Prices, inventory, and demand — distilled every month into one clear verdict: buyer’s market or seller’s. The investor’s read, before you make an offer.
The median asking price in Waterloo is about $210,000 as of Sep 2026, up 7.8% from a year ago. That is the asking price on listed homes, so sold-price and home-value sites show different numbers (why).
Only on the right house. Neither side has the upper hand in Waterloo right now. The signals split. Compared with 2017–2019 at this time of year, there are 43% fewer homes for sale, but 26% of sellers have cut their price, against 19% then. The market will not hand you a discount. You have to find it in one specific listing.
Waterloo asking prices per square foot were above the year before in 72% of months since the data starts. Within a year, the cheapest and priciest months differ by about 12.5%. That is bigger than the yearly trend, so timing your purchase matters here. Nothing in Waterloo's numbers is far from its own normal. Your return comes from the property and the price you negotiate.
Ranked among the 12 Iowa markets we track:
Across 9 full years, Waterloo asking prices ran lowest in January, about 5.5% below the year's average. They peaked in July. The most homes for sale show up in October, about 18% above the yearly average. Shop in October for choice, and expect the softest asking prices in January.
The median asking price is 19.0% below its Jun 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 7.7% below the Apr 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house. Waterloo prices have risen in 80 of the last 111 months. Drops here have been short and shallow. Buying in a slow month has rarely hurt a long hold.
This market is turning. Which way is not settled yet. Check the monthly numbers above before you commit.
HUD sets one fair market rent for Black Hawk County. For fiscal year 2026:
The figures include tenant-paid utilities and apply to all of Black Hawk County, so one home's rent can sit well above or below them. See fair market rent by city.
Read when a cheap market is a warning and how we read these numbers, then run the numbers on a deal.
The median asking price in Waterloo is about $210,000 as of Sep 2026, up 7.8% from a year ago. This is the asking price on homes listed for sale. Sites that report sold prices or estimated home values will show a different number. Our Waterloo figures cover the 4 ZIP codes with a Waterloo mailing address, which can reach past city limits.
Neither side has the upper hand in Waterloo right now. We compare Waterloo with 2017–2019 at this time of year: there are 43% fewer homes for sale; 26% of sellers have cut their price, against 19% then; there are 53 pending sales per 100 listings, against 44 then.
The median asking price is 19.0% below its Jun 2023 peak. Per square foot the gap is smaller: 7.7% below the Apr 2025 high. Part of the drop is smaller homes coming to market. Prices are rising again. Every month you wait costs money. The question is no longer when. It is which house.
At 30% of income, a tenant on the median income can pay about $1,470 a month. The median Waterloo household earns $58,803 a year.
Assume +4.8% a year. Waterloo has grown about 4.8% a year for five years and for ten. That pace held before and after the 2020–2021 boom, so it is a fair long-run input. Prices rose 2.8% over the last year. Use it for timing. The five-year rate is the better guide.
HUD's fiscal year 2026 fair market rent for Black Hawk County is $1,051 a month for 2 bedrooms and $1,357 for 3 bedrooms. The figures include tenant-paid utilities and cover the whole county.
Waterloo has four ZIP codes. Each links to its live market dashboard.
Closest matches on asking price, price per square foot, time on market, buyer demand, and price cuts.
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