The story of this market
The typical home in Clay County, Iowa sells for about $178,600.
Prices are roughly flat from a year ago (0%), a market in balance. Over the long run, values in this county have grown 106% 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 winter weather, which FEMA rates very high. HUD's fair market rent for a two-bedroom is $927 a month.
HUD sets the fair market rent for a 2-bedroom at $927 a month. FEMA's National Risk Index rates overall hazard risk here as Relatively High.
Price climate
Every year of price change, 2000–2025
+8.5%
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 (+11.2%). Worst: 2009 (-4.6%). 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
$1,214
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
+8.5%
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
88
Relatively High
FEMA National Risk Index. Each spoke is a hazard ranked nationally, where 100 is the most exposed. Expected annual loss: $17,106,403.
Mortgage activity
Home lending in this county
86.9%
2019 approval rate
| Year | Applications | Loans made | Approval | Investor share | Median home value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | 558 | 361 | 84.5% | 4.7% | $155,000 |
| 2019 | 600▲ | 422▲ | 86.9%▲ | 2.9% | $160,000▲ |
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 Approval rate is approved ÷ decided (withdrawn and incomplete files excluded).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.
Clay County, Iowa
Clay County is a rural Iowa county with a stable population base centered around the city of Spencer. Housing values remain modest compared to national averages, reflecting a lower cost-of-living environment.
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 · 1 city · 1 ZIP report
Median prices moved sideways 0.0% year over year.
Awaiting this reading — not graded.
0% of listings have cut prices · homes sell at 0% of asking — demand is holding steady.
no recorded foreclosure-ledger notices (0.0 per 10,000 residents) · unemployment 0.0% · poverty 11.4% — 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.
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.
No researched ZIP reports yet — ZIP discovery runs with the county's first refresh, and each ZIP's intel report appears here once its research lands.
The county economy is anchored by the Spencer micropolitan area, with the annual Clay County Fair serving as a significant regional event.
- Bridges Bay Resort4.116.3 mi
- Arnolds Park Amusement Park4.515.8 mi
- Boji Splash Indoor Waterpark4.116.3 mi
- Treasure Village4.415.1 mi
- Arnolds Park Amusement Park4.515.8 mi
- Clay County Fair & Events Center4.61.4 mi
- Lake Okoboji Resort & Conference Center3.917.3 mi
- Okoboji Store4.416.6 mi
- Waterfront Grille & Event Center4.316.4 mi
- Arnolds Park Amusement Park4.515.8 mi
- Emerson Bay State Recreation Area4.515.3 mi
- Gull Point State Park4.516.3 mi
- Pikes Point State Park4.519.3 mi
- Dickinson County Nature Center4.918.1 mi
- Arnolds Park Amusement Park4.515.8 mi
- Okoboji Classic Cars, LLC4.814.3 mi
- Pearson Lakes Art Center4.817.9 mi
- Iowa Great Lakes Maritime Museum4.815.8 mi
- Emerson Bay State Recreation Area4.515.3 mi
- Gull Point State Park4.516.3 mi
- Pikes Point State Park4.519.3 mi
- Dickinson County Nature Center4.918.1 mi
- Elinor Bedell State Park4.519.4 mi
- Parks Marina4.417.7 mi
- Mau Marine4.516.7 mi
- Oak Hill Marina4.515.7 mi
- Brooks Golf4.417.4 mi
- Hy-Vee Grocery Store4.319.9 mi
- Hy-Vee Grocery Store4.40.7 mi
- Central Emporium4.416 mi
- Sunshine Foods4.413.5 mi
- Southpark Mall3.80.9 mi
Theme parks, venues, golf, airports, museums, water and shopping across the area ranked by popularity within the radius shown.
Data retrieved from U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts and Census Reporter.
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
≈ $5,358/yr on a $178,600 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.