The story of this market
The typical home in Madison County, Iowa sells for about $294,000, or $182 per square foot.
Prices are up +25.6% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 69 days to sell, which is slow. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 123% since 2000. The biggest natural hazard here is drought, which FEMA rates very high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,360 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $1,360 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
-1.3%
2025
Each stripe is one year's median price change across the area's census tracts (FHFA repeat-sales index). Deep blue is a strong gain year, red a falling year. Best: 2022 (+17.3%). Worst: 2011 (-3.3%). Hover to read a year.
Monthly price momentum
Home values since 2015
+1.5%
IA · past 12 months
Freddie Mac House Price Index, single-family homes, monthly through 2026-08. Each line starts at 100 in January 2015, so a reading of 180 means prices are up 80% since then.
Rent benchmark
Fair market rent by size
$1,856
3-bed / month
HUD Fair Market Rents, fiscal 2027, for this county. A typical rent for a modest unit, used to set housing-voucher payments.
Neighborhood price trend
Long-run price trend, 2000–2025
-1.3%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 4 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
69
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $10,265,008.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
86.6%
2019 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 1021 | 639 | 83.2% | 5.1% | $215,000 |
| 2019 | 1061▲ | 667▲ | 86.6%▲ | 5.4%▲ | $315,000▲ |
CFPB Home Mortgage Disclosure Act records: every mortgage application reported by lenders for homes in this county. Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded). Investor share and home value are the median census tract.
Madison County, Iowa
Madison County's housing market displays stable demand driven by exurban buyers seeking larger lot acreages and small-town living within commuting distance of West Des Moines. Inventory has moderately broadened, offering buyers more negotiation room while keeping median pricing resilient.
No ARED distress-ledger coverage for this county yet — the foreclosure ingest rotates the national county directory, and filings appear here once the county's posted notices are read. Key-figure check: no independent anchor retained yet — first-researched cycles establish the anchor baseline this pass.
Select a city to expand its ZIP intel reports beneath · 8 cities · 11 ZIP reports
Median prices moved down 0.6% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 57 days on market with 3.0 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
17% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 98.83% of asking — demand is running ahead of supply.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 2.5% · poverty 6.1% — a stable, low-distress profile.
ACS 2024 5-year estimates. Aggregate published statistics for this county — never individual records, and never an attribute of any individual property or resident.
Deterministic aggregate of 4 researched ZIP reports of 11 — sales_count-weighted (population fallback); per point, children lacking the value or its weight are excluded. Tax rates, sentiment and context notes are tier-native and never roll.
Madison County, Iowa — researched county-level history with a deterministic 1 / 3 / 5-year projection
Solid: researched ten-year history · dotted: 1 / 3 / 5-year projection extended from the historical 7.0%/yr trend — a deterministic estimate, not a published forecast or guarantee.
No researched properties in this county yet — the property base layer populates as property research runs, and each property feeds its ZIP's roll-up.
researched Sep 27
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| 50033 | Bevington | $216,870 | $194 | +0.9% | 29 | — | — | — | 1,422 | $1,050 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50061 | Cumming | $308,500 | $229 | +1% | 57 | 98.9% | 19% | 4.1 | 3,361 | $1,163 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50072 | Earlham | $375,000 | $185 | +2.1% | 62 | 97.2% | 12% | 6.5 | 48 | $784 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50149 | Lacona | $230,000 | $206 | +2.2% | 53 | 98.9% | 18% | 1.8 | 1,422 | $836 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50155 | Macksburg | $308,500 | $229 | +1% | 57 | 98.9% | 19% | 3.6 | 3,361 | $794 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50218 | Patterson | $230,000 | $206 | +2.2% | 53 | 100% | — | 3.6 | 1,422 | $1,050 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50222 | East Peru | $308,500 | $229 | +1% | 57 | 98.9% | 19% | 2.9 | 3,361 | $850 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50240 | Saint Charles | $308,500 | $229 | +1% | 57 | 98.9% | 19% | 3.4 | 3,361 | $855 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50257 | Truro | $249,999 | $165 | +0.9% | 57 | 98.5% | 19% | 6.2 | 196 | $1,063 | researched Sep 27 |
| 50261 | Van Meter | $362,233 | $257 | -0.9% | 184 | 98.9% | 19% | 11.4 | 91 | $1,069 | researched Sep 27 |
Figures are each ZIP report's own latest research — the county roll-up aggregates them sales_count-weighted (population fallback); ZIPs cycle quarterly.
Madison County records violent and property crime rates substantially below both Iowa and national benchmarks. Public safety incidents are primarily non-violent property or traffic offenses typical of low-density rural and exurban settings.
Winterset Community School District and Earlham Community School District serve as the primary public school systems, both consistently posting graduation rates near or above 95% and above-average state standardized testing proficiency.
Flood risk is localized mainly along the Middle River and North River basins, while severe convective spring and summer storms present the dominant wind and hail threats. Wildfire risk is low, and residential property insurance availability remains intact across the county.
Economic activity is anchored by healthcare, local school administration, agriculture, and heritage tourism centered on Winterset's historic covered bridges. Exurban commuter growth continues along the northern and eastern borders linking to the Des Moines metro via US-169 and Iowa-92.
Composed from the ARED governance burden registry — tier-native tax structure (state + county + city + special districts), never averaged. Federal (United States (federal)) — Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) Superfund Liens: Establishes a statutory federal lien upon the parcel running in favor of the United States for all unrecovered cleanup costs, damages, and statutory interest incurred by the EPA. Rate and formula: Direct Dollar-for-Dollar Reimbursement (Lien Amount = Incurred Response Costs + Administrative Costs + Federal (United States (federal)) — Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act (FIRPTA) Withholding: Imposes an affirmative withholding tax obligation on the transferee (buyer) to withhold and remit tax on the gross amount realized (gross sales price). The statutory base withholding rate is 15% of the total purchase price (Formula: Tax = Amount Realized × 15%). Exemptions and reductions: (1) 0% wit Federal (United States (federal)) — Federal General Tax Lien Encumbrance: Under IRC § 6321, a statutory lien arises automatically as of the date of assessment and attaches to all real property owned or acquired by the taxpayer.
The economy balances rural agribusiness, manufacturing, education, and healthcare with a growing exurban workforce commuting into Polk and Dallas counties. Tourism related to historic attractions and covered bridges provides substantial seasonal retail and hospitality support.
Private vehicle travel predominates; major arterial routes include US Highway 169 running north-south toward I-80 and Iowa Highway 92 running east-west toward Indianola and Des Moines. Madison County Transit / HIRTA provides regional on-demand rural public transit service.
Development plans prioritize preserving agricultural continuity while accommodating low-density rural residential acreage development and orderly edge expansions around Winterset and Earlham.
The Madison County Assessor assesses all taxable real estate biennially on odd-numbered years at market value, with state rollback formulas adjusting taxable values against statutory growth limits.
Special taxing authorities include local school districts (Winterset, Earlham, Interstate 35), rural emergency/fire protection districts, Area Education Agencies, and community college service regions (DMACC).
Property insurance rates have faced mild to moderate upward pressure consistent with regional Midwestern severe convective storm, hail, and derechoid weather events, but underwriting availability remains standard.
- Spare Time Des Moines4.221.3 mi
- Sky Zone Trampoline Park4.328.7 mi
- K1 Speed Des Moines4.328.7 mi
- Clive Aquatic Center4.524.5 mi
- Get Air Trampoline Park426.7 mi
- Casey's Center4.528.1 mi
- Iowa Events Center4.528 mi
- Greater Des Moines Botanical Garden4.728.6 mi
- Principal Park4.627.7 mi
- The Iowa Taproom4.628.2 mi
- John Wayne Birthplace Museum4.73.1 mi
- Historic Roseman Covered Bridge4.88.4 mi
- Badger Creek State Recreation Area4.313.2 mi
- Historic Holliwell Covered Bridge4.82.6 mi
- Winterset City Park4.72.8 mi
- Iowa State Capitol4.828.7 mi
- Science Center of Iowa4.427.7 mi
- Pappajohn Sculpture Park4.627.3 mi
- Des Moines Art Center4.625.7 mi
- Hoyt Sherman Place4.827.3 mi
- Badger Creek State Recreation Area4.313.2 mi
- Norwalk-McAninch Sports Complex4.219.6 mi
- Winterset City Park4.72.8 mi
- Pammel State Park4.64.5 mi
- Cedar Bridge Park4.85.1 mi
- Captain Roy's4.629.4 mi
- Hy-Vee Grocery Store4.33.7 mi
- Des Moines International Airport4.323.9 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
Six surviving historic covered bridges dating from the late 19th century that attract extensive regional and national heritage tourism.
76-acre historic municipal park featuring a native limestone castle-like monument, nature trails, and picnic shelters.
State recreation area along the Middle River offering camping, limestone bluffs, and the unique Harmon Tunnel.
Dedicated museum and historic birthplace site of actor John Wayne located in central Winterset.
Data retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates profile for Madison County, IA.
Iowa generally requires judicial foreclosure proceedings. Borrowers are entitled to a notice of right to cure default prior to the initiation of foreclosure actions. Redemption rights exist post-sale unless specific statutory exceptions (such as foreclosure without redemption for nonagricultural land) are met.
Iowa Code Chapter 654
applies when — Property must be occupied as the owner's homestead
Provides legal protections for the homestead property, including specific exemptions from judicial sale for debts, as defined under state law.
Iowa Code Chapter 561
The taxable value is determined by applying an assessment limitation (rollback) to the assessed market value. The limitation is calculated annually to restrict the growth in aggregate taxable value for the residential class to 3% statewide.
Iowa Code Chapter 441; Iowa Department of Revenue Property Tax Overview
≈ $8,820/yr on a $294,000 median
Governance registry — every jurisdiction re-researches on a rolling 90-day cycle. Property reports compose these inherited burdens into a per-parcel ledger with conditional determinations. Informational only — not legal advice.