Analytics built by: Location, Inc.
Raw data sources: American Community Survey (U.S. Census Bureau), U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Federal Housing Finance Agency.
Methodology: NeighborhoodScout uses over 600 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile… Read more about Scout's Real Estate Data
With 66,427 people, 25,174 houses or apartments, and a median cost of homes of $299,005, Ames real estate is some of the most expensive in Iowa, although Ames home values aren't among America's most expensive.
Large apartment complexes or high rise apartments are the single most common housing type in Ames, accounting for 42.98% of the city's housing units. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Ames include single-family detached homes ( 38.12%), duplexes, homes converted to apartments or other small apartment buildings ( 8.60%), and a few row houses and other attached homes ( 7.52%). Cities with mostly row houses, apartments, and other high density housing types are relatively uncommon, and characteristic of compact cities that frequently have a downtown or other neighborhoods where amenities are within walking distance and a lot of street life can be seen.
Ames is dominated by renter-occupied one, two, or no bedrooms apartments. 65.43% of Ames's dwellings are rentals.
There is a lot of housing in Ames built from 1970 to 1999 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 Ames built between 2000 and later ( 29.88%). A lesser amount of the housing stock also hails from between 1940-1969 ( 19.57%). There's also some housing in Ames built before 1939 ( 9.80%).
Real estate appreciation rates in Ames's have tracked to near the national average over the last then years, with the annual appreciation rate averaging 4.37% during the period.
Over the last year, Ames appreciation rates have trailed the rest of the nation. In the last twelve months, Ames's appreciation rate has been 13.18%, which is lower than appreciation rates in most communities in America. In the latest quarter, NeighborhoodScout's data show that house appreciation rates in Ames were at 2.86%, which equates to an annual appreciation rate of 11.93%.
Relative to Iowa, our data show that Ames's latest annual appreciation rate is lower than 50% 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 Ames differ in their investment potential, sometimes by a great deal. Fortunately, you can use NeighborhoodScout to pinpoint the exact neighborhoods in Ames - 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 2000, to assist you in making the best Ames real estate investment or home purchase decisions.
High for Nation
Very High for IA