AirDNA Data for Des Moines Iowa... (& A few other cities!)

[Reid Sealby]

Hello, 

I'm a STR investor in Colorado... or at least trying to be!

I know the market is crazy everywhere, but Colorado has to be in the top 3 for unaffordable single family homes. Therefore, I've begun looking at other markets. 

My Fiancee is from the Des Moines, IA, area and we're both aware that the city is growing quickly. Does anyone here on Bigger Pockets have any inside market info in Des Moines Short Term Rental potential? We use AirDNA, but with our subscription, only have access to Colorado. Any market insight on Des Moines would be hugely appreciated. A few other cities we're looking at potential short term rental investments in, if anyone is feeling generous and would like to shed light on... 

Jekyll Island, GA

Columbus, GA

Spartanburg, SC

We are open to any and all suggestions for "hidden gem" affordable STR investment markets! Thank you!!

[Joshua Messinger]

Hey @Reid Sealby! 

With Airdna you can pay for another dashboard that includes another area. I would personally recommend using Pricelabs since it is much easier in my opinion to do this. But, it never hurts t house a combination of them both! 

If you have any other questions on running analysis for any properties you are looking at please don't hesitate to reach out. I would love to help you guys run any numbers on any property! 

Cheers,

Josh

[James Carlson]

@Reid Sealby

You're only slightly off -- Denver's ranked the 5th most expensive city in the country.

Not sure what you're looking for, but there are some mountain communities outside of Colorado Springs that are decent for Airbnb and short-term rentals -- Woodland Park, Divide, Florissant -- and aren't quite as expensive as your Denver area STR-friendly cities (Arvada, Wheat Ridge, etc.)

Adams County (think Westminster) and Northglenn also allow Airbnb investments and are kind of (sort of, almost) affordable. (If you're interested, I'm doing a presentation at 6 p.m. tonight about the Airbnb laws in Colorado.)

That said, Des Moines seems to have a lot of potential. I wish you the best!

[Chase Keller]

Hey @Reid Sealby. 

I don't have AirDNA, but I have several clients that do the MTR for traveling nurses and business travelers.  They are doing very well and it seems like there's potential for a lot more supply.  Not a ton of 'vacation' traffic in Des Moines, of course.

I don't personally have any STR in Des Moines, I 'd love to help with more specifics as far as properties go and can certainly hook you up with some people that are doing it in the market.

[Campbell Key]

@Reid Sealby 

I'm interested in Jekyll Island myself - my family used to visit there when I was a kid. I was doing some rough research a few months back but I wasn't seeing any clear indicators that it was a super profitable STR area. Obviously if you buy at the right price it would be, but it seemed like all of the condos over there were way overvalued (as is the case in a lot of places, like you mentioned), and the average nightly rate isn't as high as some of the more popular beach vacation areas. Then again, there's only so much development that can occur on that little island so its an intriguing long-term investment. I believe the Golden Isles have slightly different STR regulations than the rest of Brunswick County that are more favorable as well...but I could be mistaken. It's been awhile since I read through some of that stuff.

Let me know if you do any research or get any other useful input about the area. Id love to hear it! 

[Darson Grantham]

@Reid Sealby, I've worked with dozens of STR and MTR clients buying and selling here in Central Iowa, from Luxury 500K acreage to standard SFH near the inner city and everything in between. I have yet to find anyone who isn't well ahead financially from running these here in Des Moines. Now as you and I both know this type of investment is different than long-term rentals and each city around central Iowa handles STR differently so be aware buying in Des Moines proper is different than Windsor Heights, different than Ankeny, and is different than Altoona.

I just saw a message come through my email from you, thanks for reaching out!  Talk soon!

[Ben Einspahr]

@Reid Sealby, Yes Denver is an expensive market to buy in but regardless of the price and current market conditions. Denver is still a great city to invest when looking long term b/c of the shear volume of business and people move here... plus its in your own backyard. 

[Anthony Romeo]

I am an investor in the Des Moines and Cedar Rapids/Iowa city area. I currently have 3 air bnb's in the des moines Metro and we love them and are doing well. I also have LTR and do our own flips. I find deals regularly and would love to connect with you if your interested.