West Des Moines appreciation rates and housing market information

West Des Moines housing market information

With 46,300 people, 20,774 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $215,965, West Des Moines real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although West Des Moines home values aren't among America's most expensive.

single-family detached homes are the single most common housing type in West Des Moines, accounting for 50.15% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in West Des Moines include large apartment complexes or high rise apartments (35.58%), row houses and other attached homes (10.32%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments, or other small apartment buildings (2.53%), and a few mobile homes or trailers (1.42%).

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

There is a lot of housing in West Des Moines built from 1970-1994, so parts of town may have that "Brady Bunch" look of homes popular in the '70s and early '80s, although some of these houses were built up through the early '90s as well. There is also a lot of housing in West Des Moines built from 1995 and later (20.63%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from 1940-1969 (18.75%), and some were built from 1939 and earlier (18.75%).

West Des Moines home appreciation rates

Some of the lowest real estate appreciation rates in America over the last ten years have been in West Des Moines, where house values have increased just 40.48%, which is an average annual increase of 4.04%. NeighborhoodScout's data show that in the latest quarter, West Des Moines house values appreciated 0.54%, which is an annualized rate of 2.16%. This rate is lower than the appreciation rate found in 50% of the cities and towns in America.

Over the last year, West Des Moines appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, West Des Moines's appreciation rate has been -0.90%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in West Des Moines were at 0.54%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 2.16%.

Relative to Iowa, our data show that West Des Moines's latest annual appreciation rate is higher than 1% 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 West Des Moines differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in West 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 West Des Moines real estate investment or home purchase decisions.