Q4 2025 Cedar Valley Commercial Real Estate Market Report: 98 Transactions, $30.7 Million in Total Volume

By Jared Hottle | Published: 2026-02-16

The Cedar Valley closed the fourth quarter of 2025 with 98 commercial real estate transactions totaling $30.7 million in combined sales volume. That figure breaks down to 44 commercial and industrial sales worth $21.7 million, 47 multifamily sales worth $9.05 million, and seven new commercial leases signed across Waterloo and Cedar Falls. It was a busy quarter across every property type — and the data tells a clear story about where capital is flowing in Northeast Iowa.

Commercial and Industrial Sales: $21.7 Million Across 44 Deals

The commercial and industrial sales category recorded 44 closed transactions in Q4 2025 with a combined volume of $21,722,431. The average sale price came in at $493,692, with a median of $303,000 — a spread that reflects a handful of seven-figure deals pulling the average well above the typical transaction.

Price per square foot across all commercial sales averaged $78.71, though the range was wide — from under $1.00 per square foot on large industrial parcels to nearly $250 per square foot on smaller specialty properties. That kind of spread is typical in a market where a 50,000-square-foot warehouse and a 900-square-foot downtown retail space exist in the same dataset.

Industrial Sector Dominance: 24 Transactions, $12.7 Million

Industrial properties accounted for 24 of 44 commercial sales in Q4 2025, capturing $12.7 million in volume — roughly 59% of all commercial transaction dollars for the quarter.

That concentration is notable. Retail came in second with seven deals totaling $2.8 million, followed by Office with four sales at $2.77 million. No other property type cracked $1 million in aggregate Q4 volume.

The industrial surge reflects a broader trend visible across all of 2025. Industrial properties led transaction counts in Q1 (five deals), Q2 (10 deals), and Q4 (24 deals). Only Q3 2025 saw Retail briefly take the lead with eight deals. When a single property type accounts for more than half of all commercial volume in a quarter, it signals sustained institutional and owner-operator demand for warehouse, manufacturing, and flex space in the Cedar Valley.

Top Commercial Deals of Q4 2025

Three commercial transactions crossed the $1 million threshold in Q4 2025:

• 360 Westfield Avenue, Waterloo — $3,850,000 | Industrial | The largest single commercial sale of the quarter. This industrial property in Waterloo traded at the highest price point recorded in the Q4 dataset, anchoring the quarter's volume.

• 999 Home Plaza, Waterloo — $1,743,705 | Office | 99Nine, LLC acquired this 43,963-square-foot office building from M and LLC at $39.66 per square foot. At nearly 44,000 square feet, it was the largest office transaction of the quarter by building size.

• 3225 Airport Boulevard, Waterloo — $1,000,000 | Industrial | Cedar Bend Humane Society acquired this 9,792-square-foot industrial building from Hartel Properties, LLC at $102.12 per square foot. A nonprofit acquiring industrial space at over $100 per square foot signals mission-driven capital deployment — operational expansion, not speculative real estate.

Other notable Q4 closings include 5414 University Avenue in Cedar Falls at $1.2 million (a car wash property sold by Happy Hippo Car Wash CF LLC), 2330 GT Drive in Waterloo at $1.1 million (industrial, sold by E Castro Roofing & Siding LLC), and 2060 Sovia Drive in Waterloo at $1,215,636 — an 82,449-square-foot retail space purchased by The King Mexican Waterloo LLC from Crossing Point, LLC at $14.74 per square foot.

Multifamily Sales: 47 Transactions Totaling $9 Million

The multifamily sales category posted 47 closed transactions totaling $9,050,338 in Q4 2025 — making it the most active property category by deal count. Average multifamily sale price was $192,560, with a median of $147,000.

Where unit data was available, the average price per unit came in at approximately $89,626. Total units transacted reached at least 46 units across the deals with reported unit counts — though many smaller properties (duplexes, triplexes) did not report unit counts, meaning the true total is likely higher.

Top multifamily transactions in Q4 2025:

• 120 Periwinkle Way, Waterloo — $740,000 | Purchased by Apartments by Glenn LLC
• 1111 Langley Road, Waterloo — $699,900 | 12 units | Purchased by Waterloo Investment Group LLC at approximately $58,325 per unit — the largest multifamily deal by unit count and one of the strongest value plays of the quarter
• 620 West 3rd Street, Waterloo — $550,000 | Purchased by Audrey Properties LLC
• Stone Lane, Waverly — $352,500
• 918 Newell Street, Waterloo — $323,638 | Purchased by Robert Barnett

The Waterloo Investment Group LLC acquisition at 1111 Langley Road stands out. At $58,325 per unit across 12 units, it priced significantly below the quarter's $89,626 average per unit — the kind of basis that gives an investor room to operate profitably even in a market where rents are moderate by national standards.

Commercial Leasing Activity: Seven New Leases Signed

Seven new commercial leases closed in Q4 2025, split between Office and Retail space in Waterloo and Cedar Falls:

• 918 Decathlon Drive, Waterloo — $19,800/year | 918 sqft | Gross Lease
• 916 Decathlon Drive, Waterloo — $6,000/year | 812 sqft | Gross Lease
• 602 State Street, Cedar Falls — $18,000/year | 900 sqft | Gross Lease
• 2302 Falls Avenue, Waterloo — $2,520/month | 2,400 sqft | Gross Lease
• 703 Brandilynn Boulevard, Cedar Falls — $2,475/month | 8,409 sqft | Net Lease
• 618 Brandilynn Boulevard, Cedar Falls — $20/sqft | 1,600 sqft | Net Lease
• 2060 Sovia Drive, Waterloo — $25/sqft | 5,379 sqft | Net Lease

The Decathlon Drive corridor in Waterloo saw two leases signed in adjacent suites — a small but meaningful indicator of tenant demand in that pocket.

Waterloo vs. Cedar Falls: Where the Capital Flowed

Waterloo captured the majority of Q4 2025 commercial activity with 20 commercial sales totaling $15.6 million and 32 multifamily sales totaling $6.01 million. Cedar Falls recorded 13 commercial sales at $4.75 million and 10 multifamily deals at $2.19 million.

On a per-deal basis, Waterloo's average commercial sale came in at $780,000 compared to Cedar Falls at $365,000. That gap is driven largely by the three $1M+ deals — all of which were in Waterloo.

Outside the two metros, Dunkerton, Hudson, Denver, Reinbeck, Sumner, Waverly, New Hartford, La Porte City, and Fairbank all recorded at least one commercial or multifamily transaction. The smaller communities combined for 11 deals, reinforcing that commercial real estate activity in the Cedar Valley extends well beyond the Waterloo-Cedar Falls core.

2025 Full-Year Volume in Context

Placing Q4 in the context of the full year tells a compelling story about 2025's commercial market trajectory:

The 2025 commercial sales total crossed $103 million across 101 transactions — a substantial year of deal activity for the Cedar Valley market.

Multifamily added another 90 transactions totaling approximately $17.5 million for the full year.

Q1 2025's outsized average deal size of $2.67 million was driven by several large industrial and office transactions early in the year. By Q4, deal count was the highest of any quarter but average size normalized to $493,692 — a pattern consistent with a broad base of participants transacting, not just a few large players driving volume.

Key Takeaways for Property Professionals

• Industrial is the story of Q4. With 24 sales and nearly 60% of commercial dollar volume, industrial and warehouse demand in the Cedar Valley is the clear driver. Owners of flex, manufacturing, and distribution space are well-positioned heading into 2026.

• Multifamily is the volume leader. At 47 transactions, multifamily posted more deals than any other category. At an average of $89,626 per unit, the Cedar Valley remains accessible relative to Midwest metros like Des Moines and the Quad Cities — and investors are taking notice.

• Owner-occupiers are active. Several Q4 transactions — Cedar Bend Humane Society, E Castro Roofing & Siding, The King Mexican Waterloo LLC — involved buyers who intend to use the space rather than lease it. That's a healthy sign. Owner-occupier demand tends to be more resilient than investor demand during market corrections.

• The $100M year. 2025 commercial sales volume crossed $103 million across 101 deals. Whether that pace sustains into 2026 depends on interest rates, regional economic development, and available inventory. But the 2025 baseline has been set — the Cedar Valley is an active commercial market by any small-metro standard.

• Small-market activity matters. Eleven Q4 deals closed outside Waterloo-Cedar Falls proper — in communities like Dunkerton, Hudson, Waverly, La Porte City, and Fairbank. For brokers and investors focused solely on the two anchor cities, that's deal flow being left on the table.

Sources

• Black Hawk County Assessor — Beacon Property Search
• Crexi — Cedar Valley Commercial Listings
• Iowa Association of Realtors — MLS Data
• Cedar Valley Commercial Comps Database — Hottl Real Estate proprietary dataset, compiled from MLS, Crexi, and Black Hawk County Assessor records

For more property guides and commercial real estate market insights in Northeast Iowa, explore our comprehensive Property Guides section.