65 Apartments with pool for rent in Des Moines, IA
October 2019 Des Moines Rent Report
Welcome to the October 2019 Des Moines Rent Report. Des Moines rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Des Moines rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.
October 2019 Des Moines Rent Report
Welcome to the October 2019 Des Moines Rent Report. Des Moines rents declined over the past month. In this report, we'll evaluate trends in the Des Moines rental market, including comparisons to cities throughout the state and nation.
Des Moines rents decline sharply over the past month
Des Moines rents have declined 0.7% over the past month, but have been relatively flat in comparison to the same time last year. Currently, median rents in Des Moines stand at $653 for a one-bedroom apartment and $804 for a two-bedroom. This is the third straight month that the city has seen rent decreases after an increase in June. Des Moines' year-over-year rent growth lags the state average of 0.3%, as well as the national average of 1.4%.
Rents rising across cities in Iowa
Throughout the past year, rents have remained steady in the city of Des Moines, but other cities across the entire state have seen rents increase. Of the largest 10 cities that we have data for in Iowa, 8 of them have seen prices rise. The state as a whole logged rent growth of 0.3% over the past year. Here's a look at how rents compare across some of the largest cities in the state.
- Looking throughout the state, Iowa City is the most expensive of all Iowa's major cities, with a median two-bedroom rent of $1,104; of the 10 largest cities in the state that we have data for, Ames, where a two-bedroom goes for $1,006, is the only major city to see rents fall year-over-year (-0.5%).
- Ankeny, Urbandale, and Cedar Falls have all experienced year-over-year growth above the state average (3.1%, 1.1%, and 0.9%, respectively).
Des Moines rents more affordable than many large cities nationwide
Rent growth in Des Moines has been relatively stable over the past year - some other large cities have seen more substantial increases. Des Moines is still more affordable than most large cities across the country.
- Des Moines' median two-bedroom rent of $804 is below the national average of $1,189. Nationwide, rents have grown by 1.4% over the past year compared to the stagnant growth in Des Moines.
- While rents in Des Moines remained moderately stable this year, similar cities saw increases, including Phoenix (+3.8%), Dallas (+1.8%), and Atlanta (+1.6%); note that median 2BR rents in these cities go for $1,092, $1,130, and $1,208 respectively.
- Renters will find more reasonable prices in Des Moines than most large cities. For example, San Francisco has a median 2BR rent of $3,131, which is nearly four times the price in Des Moines.
For more information check out our national report. You can also access our full data for cities and counties across the U.S. at this link.
Methodology - Recent Updates:
Data from private listing sites, including our own, tends to skew toward luxury apartments, which introduces sample bias when estimates are calculated directly from these listings. To address these limitations, we’ve recently made major updates to our methodology, which we believe have greatly improved the accuracy and reliability of our estimates.
Read more about our new methodology below, or see a more detailed post here.
Methodology:
Apartment List is committed to making our rent estimates the best and most accurate available. To do this, we start with reliable median rent statistics from the Census Bureau, then extrapolate them forward to the current month using a growth rate calculated from our listing data. In doing so, we use a same-unit analysis similar to Case-Shiller’s approach, comparing only units that are available across both time periods to provide an accurate picture of rent growth in cities across the country.
Our approach corrects for the sample bias inherent in other private sources, producing results that are much closer to statistics published by the Census Bureau and HUD. Our methodology also allows us to construct a picture of rent growth over an extended period of time, with estimates that are updated each month.
Read more about our methodology here.
About Rent Reports:
Apartment List publishes monthly reports on rental trends for hundreds of cities across the U.S. We intend these reports to be a source of reliable information that help renters and policymakers make sound decisions, and we invest significant time and effort in gathering and analyzing rent data. Our work is covered regularly by journalists across the country.
We are continuously working to improve our methodology and data, with the goal of providing renters with the information that they need to make the best decisions.