Des Moines appreciation rates and housing market information

Des Moines housing market information

With 198,688 people, 85,105 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $125,150, house prices in Des Moines are solidly below the national average.

single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in Des Moines, accounting for 64.92% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Des Moines include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments (22.02%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (7.12%), mobile homes or trailers (3.11%), and a few row houses and other attached homes (2.79%).

People in Des Moines primarily live in small (one, two, or no bedroom) single-family detached homes. Des Moines has a mixture of owner-occupied and renter-occupied housing.

At the end of World War II, American soldiers returned home triumphant and, with the help of the GI Bill, built homes by the millions on the edges of America's cities. These homes were predominantly capes and ranches, modest in size, but built to house a growing middle-class as the 20th century became the American century. Des Moines's housing was primarily built during this period, from the '40s through the '60s. A full 40.80% of the city's housing hails from this era. Other housing ages represented in Des Moines include homes built between 1939 and earlier (30.60%), and housing constructed from 1970-1994 (25.14%). There's also some housing in Des Moines built between 1995 and later (3.46%).

Des Moines home appreciation rates

Des Moines's appreciation rate notably has been below the national average for the last ten years. The average annual home appreciation rate in Des Moines during the period has been just 5.09%, which is lower than % of US communities.

NeighborhoodScout's data show that during the latest twelve months, Des Moines home appreciation rates, at 0.14%, have been at or slightly above the national average. In the latest quarter, Des Moines's appreciation rate has been 0.81%, which annualizes to a rate of 3.24%.

Relative to Iowa, our data show that Des Moines's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 4% of the other cities and towns in Iowa.

One very important thing to keep in mind is that these are average appreciation rates for the city. Individual neighborhoods within Des Moines differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Des Moines - or in any city or town - that have the best track record of real estate appreciation, by the latest quarter, the last year, 2 years, 5 years, 10 years, or even since 1990, to assist you in making the best Des Moines real estate investment or home purchase decisions.