A housing‑strategy consultant presented a citywide update at the Des Moines City Council work session on Jan. 13, summarizing market analysis, constraints and three broad policy options for council consideration.

Charles, the consultant, told the council the Des Moines market is “generally healthy” but carries two structural vulnerabilities: geographically concentrated financially vulnerable households and a large stock of smaller, older and neglected homes. He said the city has about 96,000 housing units and estimated roughly 45,000 — about one in two units — are “older, smaller, neglected” stock. “When you have 45,000 or 1 of 2 older, smaller, neglected, you have limited demand,” he said.

The consultant presented several headline figures drawn from months of analysis: he cited a shortfall of roughly 13,000 households earning $100,000 or more (relative to a proportionally balanced Polk County benchmark), about 9,800 additional households with incomes under $50,000 (which he associated with roughly 14,000 cost‑burdened renter households), an estimated $1,000,000,000 ad valorem deficit tied to suppressed property values, and an affordability gap he summarized at about $3,000,000,000.

Charles framed the policy choice around three options: (1) stay the course, (2) make only minor tweaks, or (3) “act differently” with large, sustained interventions. He described tradeoffs and financing realities: many rehabilitation and TIF efforts yield measurable leverage but leave a large portion of the problem unresolved. “You got a $3,000,000,000 issue here and no leverage,” he said of the affordability gap, and he emphasized that private capital is unlikely to solve that portion without public subsidy.

On interventions, Charles discussed rehabilitation, selective acquisition and redevelopment, and infill/new construction as complementary strategies. He described one redevelopment example conceptually: acquire adjacent lots, remove older structures, and replace them with several new units in order to increase supply and the tax base while mixing market‑rate and affordable units. He cautioned that not all older homes are suitable for conversion and that parcel size, lot configuration and block patterns affect strategy choices.

Councilmembers asked technical and policy questions about benchmarks, jurisdictional comparisons, annexation/metro differences and school impacts. One councilmember noted housing is a societal problem that transcends city boundaries; Charles and staff observed the city also faces a “free‑rider” reality with suburban competition and limitations in state annexation law.

No formal policy decision was taken. The consultant said the team aims to deliver a draft strategy in the coming weeks that can be paired with PlanDSM, the city’s zoning and land‑use guidance, and the capital improvement program to give council concrete options ahead of budget deliberations.