Hermance Capital
Des Moines, Iowa
The most affordable market we track, with a supply pipeline thinning fast — a stable insurance-and-finance hub we’re watching closely.
Why Des Moines
Des Moines is a financial-services capital — a national hub for insurance and asset management — with a diversified base that also includes agribusiness, logistics, and government.
It offers the best affordability in our set at 17.1% rent-to-income, meaning real room for rents to rise with incomes, and the construction pipeline is thinning fast (roughly a third below its 10-year average), which supports pricing power as demand steadily grows.
What we’re watching
The one soft note is the pace of job growth.
Jobs. Employment is essentially flat year-over-year (+0.1%), so the near-term thesis rests on affordability and thinning supply rather than a hiring boom.
Scale. Like our other Midwest watch markets, deal flow in our unit band is steady but not deep.
How this fits our box
We’re looking for 20–50 unit, B/C, 1985–2010-vintage value-add communities in the $2M–$8M range, priced so a light reposition clears our gates: positive leverage from day one, at least $100 per unit per month in real cash flow, and debt-service coverage we won’t stretch to hit. Every sponsor calls their underwriting conservative; we’d rather show you the gates than claim the adjective.
Sources & caveats
Jobs — BLS Current Employment Statistics (metro), May 2026 preliminary, subject to revision. Population — U.S. Census Vintage 2025 CBSA estimates (2024→2025). Rent-to-income — Zillow NRAR (May 2026); back-series was rebased and isn’t comparable to pre-2026 values. Supply — broker/research reports, Q2 2025–Q2 2026. This page is general market information, not investment advice or an offer of securities, and describes the metro rather than any specific property. Refreshed quarterly.
Own or broker in Des Moines?
We’re not actively sourcing Des Moines today, but we track it closely and screen every inbound deal — same fast, straight read. If it fits (20–50 units, B/C), send it.
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