Explore US City West Des Moines, IA - Real Estate Market Insights, Demographics, Crime, Trends & Hotspots
West Des Moines, IA real estate snapshot: Pulse Score 45.53139977080188, cap rate 2%, median price $259,875. Below: live market insights, demographics, crime overview, investment hotspots, and nearby areas.
Pulse Score
C+
Cap Rate
2%
Investor Friendly Score
56%
Median Price
$259,875
Market Insights
The housing market in West Des Moines continues to see strong price appreciation, with values up 29.6% compared to last year. Home prices have decreased 5.5% in the past month. With 142 active listings, inventory is 56% higher than seasonal norms. Homes are now taking an average of 70 days to sell, significantly longer than the 28 days typical for this market. A significant 28.2% of listings experienced price reductions, indicating sellers may be adjusting to market realities. Only 10.7% of properties sold above asking price, giving buyers more negotiating power. Affordability remains a significant challenge in the West Des Moines market with the affordability index at 33.2. Current trends suggest further price adjustments may occur as the market continues to favor buyers.
Demographics market for - West Des Moines, IA
Total Population -
66,858
White Race
85%
African American Race
4%
Crime for City - West Des Moines, IA
Real Estate Market Prediction for - West Des Moines, IA
City Hotspots Map
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FAQ about West Des Moines, IA
The Pulse Score combines property value appreciation, rental income potential, market liquidity, demographic trends, and crime/safety signals into a single 0–100 grade. Higher scores indicate stronger investor fundamentals.
Investment quality depends on your goals. Use the cap rate, investor-friendly score, demographic insights, and crime data on this page to evaluate West Des Moines, IA for buy-and-hold, fix-and-flip, or short-term rental strategies.
Our analysis combines public datasets (US Census Bureau, FBI Uniform Crime Reporting, HUD, BLS) with proprietary short-term rental performance and active MLS feeds, refreshed on a regular cadence.
Use the “Related analysis” section on this page to jump to the dedicated crime report, school ratings, and state-level short-term rental market analysis for West Des Moines, IA.
Data sources & further reading
PulseReal’s analysis is built on top of these public, authoritative datasets.
Official UCR crime statistics by state and agency from the FBI.
Population, demographics, housing, and income data from the US Census Bureau.
Encyclopedic overview of the city, history, and notable landmarks.
Housing affordability, fair-market rents, and market reports from HUD.
Local unemployment and employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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Does a rental pencil out in West Des Moines, IA?
A median-priced home ($259,875) at the average rent ($1,058/mo), with 25% down at 7.25%, after property tax, insurance, vacancy, repairs, reserves and management.
-$1,088/mo
Cash flow on a median home
-17.9%
Cash-on-cash return
0.18
DSCR
$2,991/mo
Rent needed for a 1.25 DSCR
$2,339/yr
Landlord insurance, hazard-adjusted