Commercial Real Estate Market in Des Moines, IA
Updated monthly: sale, lease, property records, location trend, and more… · Last update: October 31
380 active listings and 5,939 off-market properties in Des Moines, IA. Commercial property asks $134/SF to buy and $14.00/SF/Yr to lease. Office vacancy runs 16.8%, the loosest of the segments tracked here.
Market Trends
Des Moines, IA spans 149.6 square miles in Polk County, Iowa. Figures below refresh monthly; last updated 31 October 2026.
Office
Office space in Des Moines, IA asks $15.63/SF/Yr to lease; the median asking sale price is $110/SF. Vacancy runs 16.8% in 2025, up from 15.9% in 2023.
Retail
Retail space in Des Moines, IA has a median asking sale price of $174/SF (based on 8 listings). Vacancy runs 5.9% in 2025, up from 5% in 2019. Down from a 2020 peak of 8.4%.
Industrial
Industrial space in Des Moines, IA has a median asking sale price of $115/SF (based on 9 listings).
Multifamily
Multifamily space in Des Moines, IA has a median asking sale price of $130/SF. Vacancy runs 8% across the Midwest region in 2025, up from 6.5% in 2022.
Market overview
Demographics & Economy
Des Moines, IA has 305,837 residents in 134,540 households. Density runs 2,044 people per square mile. Median household income here is $79,649 and median gross rent $1,095 a month.
Tools
Nearby Markets
| Market | Median Asking Price, $/SF | Median Asking Rent, $/SF/Yr |
|---|---|---|
| West Des Moines | $160 | $16.00 |
| Urbandale | $168 | $10.50 |
Commercial property in Des Moines, IA asks $134/SF. The 2 bordering markets run from $160/SF in West Des Moines to $168/SF in Urbandale, and the city sits below their $164/SF median.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the median price per square foot for commercial property in Des Moines?
How much does it cost to lease commercial space in Des Moines?
What is the office vacancy rate in Des Moines?
Which property type has the lowest vacancy in Des Moines?
How does Des Moines compare to nearby markets on price?
Where does Realmo's Des Moines market data come from?
Methodology & data sources
- Asking prices and medians
- There are 195 active for-sale and 185 active for-lease listings in Des Moines, IA. The medians are based on 98 of the for-sale and 56 of the for-lease listings, those that state a price or rent per square foot. These are ASKING figures from live listings, not closed-transaction prices, and a figure resting on fewer than 10 listings says so where it is quoted.
- Vacancy rates
- Published per-sector market series, taken at the metro level where one exists and otherwise at the Census-region level — a chart reading "in <region> region" is a regional number, not this city's.
- Refresh
- The monthly aggregates close at the end of the previous month, so 31 October 2026 — not today — is the honest last update.
- Known limitations
- multifamily vacancy is reported at Midwest region level.
- Coverage
- Metrics below the 10-observation threshold fall back one geographic level. The geography used is named on each figure.
Compiled by the Realmo Data team · reviewed 31 October 2026 · How Realmo checks market page data · Report a data issue
