Twenty years ago, Ryan Cahalan was logging countless miles on airplanes, traveling to Washington, D.C., Atlanta, Denver and Dallas scouting apartments for his employer to acquire.

The experience provided him insight into the differences between strong and struggling apartment properties and what it takes to run them well. 

In 2009, Cahalan began putting that knowledge to work for himself, buying small apartment projects in the Chicago area for his own account and for other private investors. He eventually expanded his purchases into his home state of Iowa. By early 2017, Cahalan had amassed a portfolio that included nearly 1,000 apartment units.

In September 2017, Cahalan launched Artisan Capital Group, a multifamily investment manager focused on acquiring and operating apartment properties.

“I believed in Des Moines because of its growing population and its diversified local economy,” said Cahalan, an Iowa native. “It’s the state capital. There are insurance companies here. Agriculture. Everything you really want in a city where you’re going to buy apartments.”

Cahalan’s strategy differed from his industry peers, who were buying apartment properties in the Sun  Belt and the coasts. Many dismissed the Upper Midwest as flyover country. Cahalan, though, saw opportunity.

“We [moved into Iowa] because we thought values, relative to other regions, were undervalued,” Cahalan said. “We were able to come in and buy assets. We paid fair market prices at the time.

“In the past couple years, though, we’ve seen more eyeballs on Iowa and the Midwest.”

Stable investment

Cahalan described multifamily as a “stable asset” in which to invest. The sector was not as adversely affected during the pandemic as other areas of commercial real estate, including office, which continues to have high vacancy rates and declining property values. Artisan Capital Group has been able to find multifamily properties for reasonable prices, make improvements and increase returns on its investments.

“If you can provide someone a clean, safe place to live, that really impacts that person’s well-being,” said Cahalan, whose partners in the company include Michael Perry and Sean Fogarty. “It’s something tangible that I can see. I’d rather be buying apartments – where we can make an impact on people’s lives – than industrial buildings.”

In the past 8½ years, Artisan Capital Group has grown to owning and managing over 7,200 apartment units, with a market value of $1.2 billion. More than half of the company’s units – 4,700 – are in Iowa. The remaining are in Illinois and four other Midwest states.

The company’s largest Des Moines-area acquisition occurred in 2024 when it bought Cityville on 9th, a 312-unit multifamily development on the southwest corner of Southwest Ninth and Murphy streets in downtown Des Moines. The property, developed by Hubbell Realty Co. between 2013 and 2018, was purchased for $50 million in a partnership with Eastham Capital.

“It’s really rare to be able to find an opportunity with a newer vintage property that is in a good location that we believe in in the long term,” Cahalan said. “Des Moines is building a healthy downtown. I think the ability to buy an asset where people can walk to work from, take advantage of the nightlife and the downtown amenities was very compelling.”

Part of the property was underutilized, enabling Artisan Capital a way to add value. Ground floor space on the west side of the complex originally was intended for commercial uses but had sat vacant since the building’s completion. Artisan Capital Group spent $2 million to convert the space into 18 walkup apartments.

“I think we are able to see opportunities in some ways [other companies] aren’t,” Perry said. “At Cityville, we were able to repurpose retail into apartments, which added value to that property.”

---

First visit to Des Moines

Michael Perry grew up in Wisconsin and has lived in Chicago since 1996. But even though Perry lived in the Midwest he had never visited Des Moines until several weeks after he and Ryan Cahalan formed Artisan Capital Group in September 2017. Cahalan had purchased some Des Moines-area properties and was contemplating buying others, Perry said. “I was impressed,” he said. “Des Moines is the capital but it has a small-town feel to it. It is a great place to do business.” Perry is now a regular visitor to Des Moines, as well as Iowa City where his son attends the University of Iowa.

---

New investors

In the past year or so, nonlocal multifamily property investors have taken notice of the Greater Des Moines area and are snapping up properties at prices that are generally well above assessed values. In mid-2025, for instance, the Canadian firm Avenue Living spent $183.8 million to acquire multifamily properties in Altoona, Grimes, Urbandale and West Des Moines.

The increased interest means more competition for properties, which helps boost asking prices.

“The competition isn’t ideal but at the same token, it helps the values of our existing portfolio,” Cahalan said. “If we want to sell any of our assets, there’s more buyers out there.”

Cahalan said the Des Moines market is no longer considered an undervalued market. “It’s fairly priced,” he said.

As the population in Des Moines increases, so will interest from investors, Fogarty said.

Currently, over 750,000 people live in the Greater Des Moines area, U.S. Census data shows. The population of Polk, Dallas, Warren, Jasper, Madison and Guthrie counties could reach 1 million by the 2040s, some population forecasters say.

“A lot of our investors may not go into a 400,000-population city but when you start leaning toward a million, you’re going to get more investment,” Fogarty said. “That’s a benefit to us.”

Increased competition for properties also means increased competition for tenants. To attract tenants, properties are being updated and amenities, such as bike storage and dog parks, are being added.

The improvements may increase rent but “ultimately it benefits the renter because they are getting better products and better service,” Perry said.

Artisan Management Group, the vertical property management company of Artisan Capital Group, is based in Des Moines and oversees the majority of the company’s apartments. The management company, headed by Darcy Geerdes, is expanding to provide management services to other properties.

Artisan Capital Group’s partners had considered hiring a third-party management company to oversee their properties but “we wanted more hands on the wheel,” Cahalan said. “We take our fiduciary responsibility to our investors very seriously. We felt that if we could build a mousetrap that was better than the third-party options that don’t have ownership, then we should do it. It took a big investment into building out the team but it was the right thing to do. … We control the operations.”

What’s the future hold?

Leaders of Artisan Capital Group say the company is positioned for steady growth, particularly in the Midwest markets where it operates. Within the next three to five years, they anticipate owning nearly 10,000 units in Iowa and other Midwestern states that company leaders say offer strong long-term growth opportunities.

“I think that’s a good stabilized point,” Cahalan said.

At the same time, the company’s leaders are making operation improvements that will help fuel expansion. In recent years, Artisan Capital Group has invested heavily in building out its corporate support structure within its management arm, sharpened efficiencies and refined its underwriting capabilities.  

“We’re learning every day,” Perry said. “For us, that’ll mean being able to underwrite more aggressively and buy more.” 

---

Artisan Capital Group

Offices: Chicago (headquarters) and Des Moines (1719 Grand Ave.)
Founded: 2017
Company partners: Ryan Cahalan, Sean Fogarty, Michael Perry
Corporate structure: Artisan Capital Group is the investment arm of Artisan Capital Group; Artisan Management Group is the management arm.
Markets in: Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri
Number of employees: 153
Apartment units own/manage: 7,263, more than half of which – 4,700 – are in Iowa
Market value of properties own: $1.2 billion