Iowa Rent Report – April 2019

• The national average rent reached $1,436 in April 2019, up by 3% ($42) year over year, and by 0.3% ($5) month over month, according to Yardi Matrix data.
• Des Moines, IA apartment prices almost flatlined over the year (0.8% or $7 y-o-y rent increase), reaching $892 per month in April.
• Ankeny, IA apartments are the most expensive among the cities analyzed ($1,119 per month), while apartments in Urbandale, IA have the cheapest rents ($824 per month). 

Rents see a 3% annual increase in April, the lowest annual increase in 11 months

Nationally, average rent prices rose by 3% year-over-year, according to the latest Yardi Matrix data on apartment market trends. Rents averaged $1,436 this April — the second month in a row to witness a 0.3% m-o-m growth. Compared to last April, renters pay $42 more on average per month following relatively flat m-o-m rent increases during the off-season.

Renting in Iowa’s cities in April 2019

The average rent in Iowa’s largest cities is generally lower than the national average rent. The fastest growing rents in April were in Ankeny, where rental apartment prices increased by 1.9% over the year, $21 more per month compared to a year ago. If we look at rent changes in the past 5 years, Ankeny remains on top of the list. The city saw the highest rent increase in the entire state — up by 22% (or $202 more) since 2015.

Des Moines apartments saw almost no change over the year, as average rents rose by only 0.8% y-o-y. However, over the last 5 years, rents went up by 19.3% (or $144).

Prices dropped in Urbandale and Johnston, where average rents decreased by 2.3% and 1%, respectively.

Of the cities analyzed, Ankeny apartments are the state’s most expensive for renters, with an average rent of $1,119 per month, followed by apartments in Johnston, where the average monthly rent is $1,099. On the flipside, the cheapest cities to rent an apartment in are Urbandale ($824) and Des Moines ($892).

Methodology

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

To prepare the state rent report, we analyzed only cities with a rental stock of at least 2,000 apartments in 50+ unit buildings. To compile the national rent report, RentCafe’s research team analyzed rent data across the 253 largest cities in the U.S., in large-scale apartment buildings with 50 or more units.

Rent data was provided by 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. Rental rate coverage is for Market Rate properties only. Fully Affordable properties are not included in the Yardi Matrix rental surveys and are not reported in rental rate averages.