Iowa Rent Report – November 2019

• The national average rent went up by 3.1% in the past year and decreased by 0.2% month-over-month, reaching $1,473 in November, according to data from Yardi Matrix.
• Council Bluffs, IA renters saw the highest annual rent increase in November, with the average rate reaching $908 per month. 
• Johnston apartments are the most expensive, while apartments in Urbandale have the cheapest rents. 

The year ends with another decrease in the average rent reaching $1,473 in November

The beginning of the winter season has taken the slow trend seen throughout fall to a new low, with the average national rent decreasing 0.2% since last month. The national average rent in November dropped to $1,473, despite an annual increase of 3.1% ($44). Given that people move less during this time of year, the $3 monthly drop is not unexpected.

Renting in Iowa in November 2019

The average rent in Iowa cities is lower than the national average rent. The fastest growing rents in November were in Council Bluffs, where rental apartment prices increased by 7.8% year-over-year, or $66. Altoona apartments saw the second highest annual increase, jumping by 3.9%, making them $36 more expensive than last year. On the other hand, in Ankeny, prices dropped by 1.8% ($20) since November last year.

Johnston are the state’s most expensive for renters, with an average rent of $1,112, followed by apartments in Ankeny, where the average monthly rent is $1,078. On the other hand, the cheapest city to rent an apartment of the cities analyzed is Urbandale, with an average apartment rent of $854.

Methodology

RentCafe.com is a nationwide apartment search website that enables renters to easily find apartments and houses for rent throughout the United States.

The data on average rents included in our reports comes directly from competitively-rented (market-rate) large-scale multifamily properties (50+ units in size), via telephone survey. The data is compiled and reported by our sister company Yardi Matrix, a business development and asset management tool for brokers, sponsors, banks and equity sources underwriting investments in the multifamily, office, industrial and self-storage sectors. Fully-affordable properties are not included in the survey and are not reported in rental rate averages. Local rent reports include only cities with a statistically-relevant stock of large-scale multifamily properties of 50+ units.