Des Moines, WA real estate
Buying or selling a home, condo, or piece of land in Des Moines? Here is what the city's housing actually looks like, and how to reach Isaac Ortiz about it.
Des Moines housing snapshot
| Population | 32,545 | |
|---|---|---|
| Median home value | $539,800 | Owner-reported |
| Median household income | $89,787 | |
| Detached houses | 57.6% | Share of all housing units |
| Townhomes / attached | 2% | |
| In buildings of 2+ units | 38.8% | Condos and apartments alike |
| Manufactured homes | 1.6% | |
| Owner-occupied | 60.8% | |
| Median year built | 1974 | |
| Vacancy rate | 5.3% |
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (2019–2023). Tables B25077, B01003, B25003, B25024, B25035, B19013, B25002. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
What the numbers mean for a buyer or seller
The median owner-reported home value in Des Moines is $539,800.
That is 33% below the King County median of $811,200. Median household income is $89,787, 26% below the county's $122,148.
Des Moines's housing is genuinely mixed - 57.6% detached houses, 38.8% in multi-unit buildings, and 2% attached single-family such as townhomes. Both house and attached-home stock exist here in real numbers.
60.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied - a fairly even ownership-to-rental split.
Half of Des Moines's homes were built in 1974 or earlier, so a large share predates modern energy codes - worth leaving time in the inspection for the roof, the electrical, and the plumbing.
Des Moines is 32,545 people, big enough for a steady flow of comparable sales. Vacancy sits at 5.3%.
Selling in Des Moines
Des Moines runs close to an even split - 60.8% of occupied homes are owner-occupied - so your buyer could as easily be a family moving in as someone buying to rent it out. Pricing and presentation have to work for both.
For pricing context, the midpoint of Des Moines homes is $539,800, and the area sits about 4.7 miles off the Seattle-Bellevue-Tacoma spine - usually the first thing a buyer's agent checks when they push back on a list price.
Half the homes here were built in 1974 or earlier, so buyers and their inspectors arrive expecting questions about the roof, the electrical and the sewer line. Knowing those answers before you list is usually worth more than fixing them mid-negotiation.
Isaac will tell you what your home is actually likely to bring in Des Moines and what, if anything, is worth doing first. If the honest answer is that this is not your year to sell, he will say that too.
Talk to Isaac Ortiz about Des Moines
Isaac Ortiz is a licensed real estate broker with Compass, working King County and the surrounding Puget Sound area. Se habla español. Send a note and he will reply personally.
Email Isaac.Ortiz@nwret.com.