Twelve percent fewer building permits were issued for the construction of single-family homes and townhouses in the Greater Des Moines area in the first 10 months of 2025 than were issued during the same period a year ago, data collected by the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines shows.

Specifically, 2,624 permits were issued for single-family houses and townhouses by Polk County and the 24 other communities surveyed by the association. In 2024, 2,996 permits were issued.

Related, the Greater Des Moines Association of Realtors data shows that 11,223 homes were sold between January and October, a 4% increase from the 10,782 sold during the same period in 2024.

With those statistics in mind, the Business Record asked panelists who took part in the recent Project515 virtual event to share their thoughts on the 2026 outlook for the housing sector.

Here are their answers:

Curtis Brown, assistant city manager, city of Urbandale: “Things are strong. We expect continued growth. There aren’t any structural or major barriers to success. I think we’ll see stability with moderate fluctuations and responses to federal level policy, from tax policy to tariffs to the Fed funds rate.”

Robert Hartwig, president, Iowa Bankers Mortgage Corp.: “I’m not a macro economist, but I think short-term rates in 2026 are going to continue to moderate and go down a little bit. I don’t see a lot of change in long-term rates. I think they’re going to stay about the same as where they are today.”

Chris Pickard, owner, Sage Homes, and president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines: “It looks to me like things are on a manageable upswing and the companies that continue to focus on improving their processes, their customer experience and their product are going to do just fine navigating 2026.”

Scott Steelman, real estate agent with Iowa Realty Co. and first vice president, Des Moines Area Association of Realtors: “The National Association of Realtors’ economists projected a 16% increase in productivity [in 2026]. That’s a pretty strong number. I don’t know if our metro area is going to reflect that, but I certainly feel like we have the ability to do that.”

Matt Weller, vice president of development, Hubbell Realty Co.: “Regarding multifamily vacancies, we are at the highest level since 2017-2018. Rent growth is stagnant. We see that changing in 2026 as supply slows and deliveries get absorbed. Vacancy is going to go down and rents will be going up.”

More online: To watch the video of the Dec. 4 Project515 discussion on the housing sector, click here.