Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines Apartment Loans in 2026
Iowa will value apartment parcels as a separate class again from the 2027 assessment, so Des Moines apartment loans closing now should be sized with that change in view. Loans run from $1,500,000 with leverage to 80% LTV, and stabilized buildings start at 6.14%. Before recommending anyone, we canvass HUD, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, banks, CMBS lenders and bridge investors, at no application or processing fee. Properties past this page's range belong on Iowa multifamily loans, other towns on Iowa apartment loans, and program pricing on our commercial mortgage rates page. Lender terms come back written.
Get a Free QuoteDes Moines Metro Jobs: Flat Overall, Up 2.5% in Financial Activities
Nonfarm payrolls across the Des Moines-West Des Moines metro came to 408,700 in September 2026, preliminary and unadjusted per BLS, matching September 2025. Financial activities grew 2.5% to 56,900 jobs and education plus health services 1.1%, while trade, transportation and utilities dropped 3.3% and manufacturing 2.7%. Unemployment, also unadjusted, climbed from 2.5% in April to 3.7% (preliminary) in August.
In a March 2026 metro snapshot, HUD puts apartment vacancy at 9.0% for April through June 2025, against 8.1% for the same months of 2024, and counts roughly 2,725 multifamily units permitted in the year ending June 2025, up from about 890. Census put the city at 212,086 residents in July 2025; its 2020-2024 owner-occupancy rate was 60.5%, so about four in ten households rent.
Below-Metro Rents and a Finance-Heavy Employer Base in Des Moines
The October 2026 report from Apartment List sets the city median at $1,034, which fell 1.1% during September and trails its year-earlier level by 1.0%. That is 10.9% under the $1,161 metro median; Ankeny, a separate city, tops the report's five metro cities at $1,402. RentCafe's tally, which covers all Des Moines apartment properties of 50-plus units, shows $1,119 as the average rent at September 30, 2026, against $1,103 one year prior (plus 1.46%).
The Greater Des Moines Partnership's February 2026 roster lists Principal (5,000 to 9,999 workers), Wellmark Blue Cross Blue Shield of Iowa and EMC Insurance (1,000 to 4,999 each) in Des Moines, and Wells Fargo (10,000-plus) in both Des Moines and West Des Moines. Downtown, crews started in July 2025 on a HUD-financed building at 1435 Mulberry Street with more than 200 workforce units, due in spring 2027. Underwriters read payrolls like these as support for a Des Moines apartment loan's occupancy.
Des Moines Apartment Loan Rates
Rates updated as of November 3, 2026
Stabilized Des Moines buildings price closest to these figures; the Polk County tax bill, the City rental certificate and the 2027 multiresidential percentage shape final terms.
| Loan Type | Rate* | Max LTV |
|---|---|---|
| 5 Year Fixed | 6.54% | Up to 80% |
| 7 Year Fixed | 6.57% | Up to 80% |
| 10 Year Fixed | 6.61% | Up to 80% |
- Cash-out refinances are acceptable
- Interest-only and non-recourse options
- Minimum 1.25x debt-service-coverage ratio
See Des Moines Multifamily Rates Over $6 Million, Starting at 6.14%
Rates last updated November 3, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
A Neighborhood-by-Neighborhood Look at Des Moines
RentCafe's table of neighborhood averages, dated September 30, 2026, is led by the Historic East Village ($1,393), Downtown ($1,347) and North of Grand ($1,286). Drake University, on a 150-acre campus in the city, reports nearly 3,000 undergraduates and 1,600 graduate students. North of downtown, the Birdland neighborhood's levee failed in 1993 and 2008, per a 2010 Associated Press report, and Birdland levee work was finished in 2011, a 2012 report said. A 2026 City Council item lists 44 recognized neighborhoods for recertification, plus Capitol East and Greenwood Historic conditionally.
We lend across these City-recognized neighborhoods, and in Ankeny, Johnston and West Des Moines, which are separate cities:
- Downtown
- Historic East Village
- North of Grand
- Sherman Hill
- Drake
- Beaverdale
- Ingersoll Park
- Waterbury
- Merle Hay
- Highland Park
- Union Park
- Capitol East
- River Bend
- Fairground
- Woodland Heights
- Salisbury Oaks
- Greenwood Historic
- Watrous South
Lender Choices for a Des Moines Apartment Property
Underwriting styles vary by capital source, so Des Moines apartment loans get quoted across every program below before we narrow the field:
| Program | Typical rate* | Max leverage | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fannie Mae Small Loan | 6.54% | Up to 80% | Non-recourse, fixed to 30 yrs |
| Freddie Mac SBL | 6.60% | Up to 80% | $2M to $10M small balance |
| FHA / HUD | 6.74% | Up to 85% | Highest leverage, longest term |
| Bank / portfolio | 6.50% | Up to 75% | Flexible, value-add |
| Bridge | 9.00% | Up to 80% LTC | Reposition, lease-up |
Our sizing starts at 1.25x debt-service coverage, and before the 2027 assessment we also rerun a Des Moines loan at the multiresidential percentage Senate File 2472 sets. Loans above this page's range sit on Iowa multifamily loans.
Rates last updated November 3, 2026. Rates and maximum LTV shown represent our best-case pricing scenarios. Actual rates, LTV, and loan terms are subject to underwriting approval and may vary.
Ground Rules for Des Moines Apartment Owners: Iowa Code, Polk County, City Hall
Rents set by the market. Iowa Code 364.3(9) says a city "shall not adopt or enforce any ordinance imposing any limitation on the amount of rent" on privately held housing or commercial space, though it may manage residential property in which it has an interest. Subsection 16 voided local voucher-acceptance mandates as of January 1, 2023, and subsection 3(d) bars city conditions or fees tied to a refinancing or sale.
Residential now, multiresidential from 2027. Since 2022, Iowa Code 441.21 has classed parcels with three or more dwelling units as residential, taxed for 2025 values (fiscal 2026/27 bills) on 44.5345% of actual (assessed) value. On $1,000,000 of actual value ($445,345 taxable), the City's $16.61-per-$1,000 rate for fiscal 2027 takes about $7,397, before county, school and other levies. Senate File 2472, signed May 18, 2026, revives a multiresidential class from the January 1, 2027 assessment at the residential percentage "plus three percent," then "plus six percent" from 2028, capped at 100%.
Odd-year reassessments. Section 428.4 makes each odd-numbered year a reassessment year, so 2027 brings new values alongside the new class; protests run April 2 through April 30 (Section 441.37). House File 718 (2023) tied levy limits to valuation growth, and Senate File 2472 sets a 2% annual limit on local property tax revenue growth, school funding excepted.
Rental certificates. Section 364.17 obliges cities of 15,000 or more to inspect and certify rentals regularly. Since July 1, 2026, Des Moines has charged a multiple dwelling $126 for the first two units and common areas plus $22 per further unit, and its December 2024 schedule grants a three-plus-unit building 2.5 years after a clean first inspection, 1.5 years when violations stay within City limits, and 9 months beyond them.
Transfer tax and foreclosure. Deeds carry a state charge of 80 cents for every $500 above the first $500 (Section 428A.1), and mortgages are exempt (428A.2). Foreclosure goes through court "by equitable proceedings" (654.1), and the borrower may redeem "within one year from the day of sale" while keeping possession (628.3). A mortgage on a nonfarm parcel under ten acres can trim that to three months if the lender gives up any deficiency (628.26); lenders may instead elect foreclosure without redemption (654.20) or, if the borrower goes along, the nonjudicial options in Section 654.18 and Chapter 655A.
Levees and flood coverage. City reports list Levee Alterations Phases A and B as done in June 2022 and May 2025, with D through H at 30% design in November 2025, work meant to let the City pursue FEMA accreditation for downtown levees that fell short of its standards. In FEMA's high-risk zones, those coded A or V, flood insurance is mandatory with a government-backed mortgage; NFIP building limits top out at $500,000 for properties housing five or more families.
Financing Options in Des Moines
Behind each card below is a different set of lenders; choose whichever fits your Des Moines property:
Holding property in Ames, Cedar Rapids or Davenport as well? Iowa apartment loans covers buildings anywhere in the state.
Senate File 2472 and the Next Des Moines Refinance
A refinance now in process is underwritten on the fiscal 2026/27 tax bill, which taxes 2025 values at a 44.5345% residential percentage, down from 47.4316% for 2024. From the January 1, 2027 assessment, apartment parcels are assessed at each year's residential percentage plus three percent, then plus six percent from 2028, and 2027 is itself a reassessment year. We show coverage at both percentages, so you know whether a Des Moines apartment loan still clears 1.25x.
Rents matter too: the city's median is down 1.0% on the year and the metro's up 1.0% (Apartment List, October 2026 report), and lenders size proceeds on actual collections.
Des Moines Apartment Building Loans for Five Units and Up
RentCafe's September 2026 averages in the city's 50-unit-and-larger buildings run from $913 for a studio to $1,726 for a three-bedroom. We finance:
- Downtown and Historic East Village mid-rises
- Office buildings converted to apartments
- Garden-style apartment complex properties
- Older walk-up buildings
- Student rentals near Drake University
- Main-street buildings with apartments over shops
Iowa Multifamily Financing as Des Moines Unit Counts Grow
For agency-size Des Moines complexes, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac usually come first: up to 80% LTV, fixed periods as long as three decades, and liability limited to bad-acts carve-outs. HUD amortizes longest, with Fannie Mae's FHA risk-sharing terms allowing a fully amortizing schedule of up to 40 years. Conduit loans close without recourse, while bank loans are the flexible choice and frequently carry recourse.
The 1435 Mulberry Street workforce building is HUD-financed. Larger Des Moines properties are covered on Iowa multifamily loans, with agency detail at Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae.
Iowa Multifamily Loan Rates
For larger balances, over $6 million
Des Moines Commercial Mortgages Beyond Rental Housing
Investors holding Des Moines offices, warehouses, clinics or retail centers see those shopped across lenders the way apartments are:
Nearby Apartment Loan Markets
Outside Des Moines? Start with the statewide page, or browse our apartment loan pages for other U.S. cities:
Recent Apartment Loan Closings
Our recent closings, all outside Iowa, each collected competing lender quotes before terms were locked, the routine a Des Moines file also follows.
What Our Clients Say
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Gary M. · Portland, OR“Select Commercial offered 100% financing for my medical practice when my bank would have required 20% down. They delivered something my bank could not, and handled everything professionally.”
John C. · Boston, MAGet Your Des Moines Apartment Loan Quote
Your Des Moines file should include the rent roll, income and expense statements for the trailing twelve months, the latest Polk County assessment notice and tax statement, each building's City rental certificate with its expiration date, and the insurance declarations page plus any flood policy.
- No application or processing fees
- Written answers within 48 hours
- For 5+ unit and commercial properties, $1.5M and up