The story of this market
The typical home in Jefferson County, Iowa sells for about $186,319, or $117 per square foot.
Prices are up +4.6% from a year ago, so sellers still have some momentum. Homes take about 66 days to sell, which is slow. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 82% since 2000. Last year 3 of 5 neighborhoods saw prices rise, so the story isn't the same street to street. The biggest natural hazard here is lightning, which FEMA rates very high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $1,096 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $1,096 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively Moderate.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
0%
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 (+11%). Worst: 2014 (-3.7%). 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
$1,306
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
0%
2025 change
FHFA repeat-sales index, median of 5 census tracts in this county (2000 = 100). Bars are each year's median change.
Natural hazard exposure
The area's risk shape
63
Relatively Moderate
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $7,523,802.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
73.4%
2019 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 496 | 283 | 75% | 5% | $145,000 |
| 2019 | 440 | 254 | 73.4% | 9.1%▲ | $140,000 |
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 Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded).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.
Jefferson County, Iowa
Jefferson County is currently a buyer's market with a median home value of $186,319, reflecting a modest 4.6% year-over-year increase. The market is characterized by low transaction volume and a 3.4-month supply of inventory, suggesting a stable but slow-moving environment. Affordability remains a key factor, with a price-to-income ratio of 3.0x, keeping the area relatively accessible compared to national trends.
7 distress filing(s) on the ARED verified county foreclosure ledger. 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 · 5 cities · 9 ZIP reports
Median prices moved up 0.1% year over year.
Homes spend a median of 93 days on market with 0.0 months of supply — a fast-moving market.
0% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 3.61% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 3.8% · poverty 11.2% — 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 8 researched ZIP reports of 9 — 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.
Jefferson 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 2.8%/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
researched Sep 27
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researched Sep 27
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researched Sep 27
| 52533 | Batavia | $180,000 | $112 | — | — | — | — | — | — | $1,074 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52535 | Lockridge | $189,624 | $108 | +2.1% | 112 | 96.2% | 8.5% | 6.4 | 12 | $846 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52540 | Brighton | $86,455 | $83 | +147% | 40 | 94% | 15% | 6.2 | 50 | $681 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52544 | Centerville | $145,000 | $92 | +2.1% | 68 | 96.5% | 12% | 5.2 | 42 | $785 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52550 | Delta | $223,500 | $116 | — | 72 | — | — | — | 3 | $1,038 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52556 | Fairfield | $196,000 | $118 | — | 112 | — | — | — | 87 | $878 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52567 | Libertyville | $369,000 | $146 | — | 52 | 100% | — | — | 20 | $946 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52580 | Packwood | $164,252 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | $722 | researched Sep 27 |
| 52585 | Richland | $145,000 | $98 | +3.5% | 82 | 96.5% | 12% | 7 | 14 | $819 | 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.
Reporting agencies in Jefferson County recorded a violent crime rate of 140 per 100,000 residents in 2024, which is lower than most counties in the region.
The county is noted for high educational attainment, ranking among the top five most-educated counties in Iowa with 43.6% of adults holding a bachelor's degree or higher.
The county seat of Fairfield serves as the primary economic hub, with the area maintaining a stable but small-scale market characterized by a mix of residential and agricultural land use.
Property taxes are assessed at the county level based on local millage rates; specific exemptions for homesteads and agricultural land apply under Iowa state law.
The economy is supported by approximately 600 businesses, with a focus on local services and education-linked sectors.
The county is served by regional highway corridors, with Fairfield acting as the primary transit node.
The county assessor manages property valuations for tax purposes in accordance with Iowa state assessment cycles.
Parcels are subject to standard county and school district levies, with no major special utility districts reported.
The amenity base that shapes daily life and property demand in this county — what residents actually live with, and what the pipeline is adding.
Listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Data aggregated from Census QuickFacts and ZIP-level rollups.
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
≈ $5,590/yr on a $186,319 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.