Des Moines, WA Property Management
Des Moines, WA runs 6.3 miles along Puget Sound south of Sea-Tac Airport, with Kent Des Moines Station on its eastern edge, and its typical asking rent climbed 5.3% in a year to $2,055 while home values held flat. RPM Today manages Des Moines rentals from the Marina District to Redondo, pricing each home by its street, its school district and its age.
$2,055 typical asking rent, up 5.3% in a year. Two school districts, one city license, 6.3 miles of shoreline.
Des Moines Property Management Where Asking Rents Outrun Home Values
Compared with SeaTac, Burien, Kent and Federal Way, Des Moines has the smallest share of renters, 39.4%, and the highest typical asking rent, $2,055 in Zillow’s September 2026 index. Most Des Moines households own their homes, and more than four in five renter households live somewhere other than a single-family house. A managed house here is a scarce product in an owner-majority city, so it competes on condition and location rather than volume. Add a school district line that crosses the south end and a median building date of 1974, and the comparison that matters for a Des Moines rental is the next street over, not a South King County average.
Des Moines at a Glance
- Population: 33,690, ranked 39th among Washington cities (WA OFM, April 1, 2026)
- Housing units: 13,760, a net gain of 538 units since 2020, 467 of them in buildings of two or more units (WA OFM, 2026)
- Renter households: 4,693, or 39.4% of occupied homes (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Renters in detached houses: 785 households, 16.7% of all renter households (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Typical asking rent: $2,055, up 5.3% year over year (Zillow ZORI, September 2026)
- Median gross rent paid by current tenants: $1,799 including utilities (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Typical home value: $592,107, down 0.3% year over year (Zillow ZHVI, September 2026)
- Median year built: 1974 (Census ACS 2020-2024)
- Light rail: Kent Des Moines Station, just inside Kent near Highline College, 7 minutes to SeaTac/Airport (Sound Transit 1 Line schedule)
- Waterfront: Des Moines Marina with 840 wet and dry moorage slips, plus the Redondo Boat Launch (City of Des Moines)
- School districts: Highline Public Schools in the north and center, Federal Way Public Schools in the south including Redondo (US Census Bureau geocoder)
- College: Highline College, 8,759 students in fall 2026 (Highline College Board of Trustees)
- Rental license: City of Des Moines business license for every residential rental, single-family homes included (DMMC Chapter 5.04)
Sea-Tac Airport on the North Line
Des Moines shares its northern border with SeaTac, and the Des Moines Marina sits about 3.2 miles in a straight line from the main terminal at Sea-Tac International, which handled 52,715,181 passengers in 2025. WSDOT’s SR 509 Completion Project is building a tolled four-lane expressway between I-5 and the airport from the south: the first mile opened in June 2025, and the final two miles are scheduled for 2028. The Port of Seattle’s plan for 19 new gates and a second terminal drew joint comments from Des Moines, Burien and SeaTac in August 2026.
Kent Des Moines Station and Highline College
Link light rail reached the eastern edge of Des Moines on December 6, 2025, when Kent Des Moines Station opened with a 500-space garage. The station itself is in Kent, about 0.3 miles from Highline College. Trains reach SeaTac/Airport in 7 minutes and Westlake in 45 to 46, running about every 8 minutes in the morning peak. Highline College, founded in 1961 on what is now an 80-acre Des Moines campus, enrolled 8,759 students college-wide in fall 2026.
The Marina District to Redondo
The city owns and operates the Des Moines Marina: 840 wet and dry moorage slips, 1,500 feet of guest dock, a public fishing pier, and a district of restaurants and shops around the basin. Liveaboards are prohibited, so slip holders need a home ashore. At the south end, Redondo is part of Des Moines as well, with Redondo Beach, Highline College’s Marine Science and Technology Center, and a city boat launch at 28280 Redondo Beach Dr S.
Public and Institutional Employers
The city names its major employers as Highline School District, Highline College, the City of Des Moines, the FAA Northwest Mountain Region headquarters, and two retirement communities, Wesley and Judson Park. Residents still range widely for work, with a mean commute of 30.8 minutes, and the SR 509 and light rail projects are widening the set of jobs reachable from a Des Moines address.
State Rent Rules and the Des Moines Rental License
Des Moines rentals operate under Washington’s statewide landlord-tenant law, and the city requires a business license for every residential rental.
The rent cap. Under HB 1217, rent cannot rise during the first 12 months of a tenancy. After that, an increase is limited to 9.683% in any 12-month period for 2026 and 10% for 2027. The cap reaches single-family homes whose owners live elsewhere, which describes most houses we manage. Exempt are units whose first certificate of occupancy was issued 12 or fewer years before the increase notice, certain owner-occupied arrangements, and qualifying subsidized housing (RCW 59.18.700, 59.18.710). With a 1974 median build year, most Des Moines houses fall outside the new-construction exemption.
Notice. Most tenancies require at least 90 days’ written notice of an increase, on the state’s prescribed form (RCW 59.18.140, 59.18.720); income-based subsidized tenancies follow a 30-day rule. Washington is not uniform: Seattle and Tacoma require 180 days, so an owner with homes in several cities keeps a separate clock for each.
Just cause. Under RCW 59.18.650, a landlord may end or decline to renew most tenancies only for a cause the statute lists, with narrow exceptions for some fixed-term leases.
The city license. Chapter 5.04 of the Des Moines Municipal Code requires a City of Des Moines business license for every residential rental, single-family homes and condos included, and the license does not transfer when a property sells. Fees, deadlines and any other city requirement come from the City of Des Moines, which is the place to confirm them.
Asking rents rose 5.3% in a year, so a long-tenured tenant’s rent can sit well under the current listing market. An increase that tries to close that gap in one step can run into the 9.683% ceiling. Rent can be reset without that limit only after a tenant vacates and the tenancy ends.
General orientation only, not legal advice. How these rules apply to a particular property is a question for qualified counsel or the City of Des Moines.
Pricing by Instrument and Address
Zillow’s $2,055 asking rent and the Census Bureau’s $1,799 median measure different things. We price each Des Moines home against comparable nearby houses and live listings, and we say which number is which.
Leasing Across Two School Districts
North Des Moines is Highline Public Schools; Redondo and the south end are Federal Way Public Schools. We confirm the district by exact address before a listing goes live.
Upkeep for 1970s Construction
Half of Des Moines housing was built in 1974 or earlier. We document condition at every move-in and schedule system work between tenancies, while the house is empty.
License and Rent Cap Tracking
Every Des Moines rental needs a city business license, and a sale means a new one. We track the license alongside increase notices and the state cap, so each increase is timed and sized to the rules.
In Des Moines, Asking Rents Rose While Home Values Held Flat
Zillow’s typical Des Moines home value was $592,107 in September 2026, 0.3% lower than a year earlier and 3.1% under its February 2025 peak of $610,765. Over the same twelve months the typical asking rent rose from $1,952 to $2,055, after peaking at $2,072 in August. That gap shapes the sell-or-rent decision, though it does not make every house a good rental. New supply in Des Moines is almost entirely multifamily (467 of the 538 net new units since 2020), so a house competes with newer apartments on finish and with older houses on price. The owners who come out ahead price to the street and keep a 1970s house in the condition a $2,000-plus rent requires.
Des Moines Leasing for a Scarce Single-Family Product
Fewer than one Des Moines renter household in five lives in a single-family house: 832 of 4,693, counting attached homes such as townhouses. Scarcity means apartment-weighted averages undersell a three-bedroom home, which the Census Bureau puts at a $2,250 median gross rent against $1,830 for a two-bedroom. The median Des Moines renter household spends 39.8% of its income on rent and utilities, so we verify income and rental history against the actual asking rent for that home. Listings name the school district, the distance to Kent Des Moines Station and, on the north end, the airport, because applicants learn all three on their first visit.
Des Moines Maintenance on 1974-Era Housing
Des Moines housing has a 1974 median build year, older than Kent (1985) or Federal Way (1984) and newer than Burien (1966). A house that age carries decades of updates by different owners, of uneven quality. The move-in condition report therefore does a lot of work: dated photographs of every room, appliance and system, so that a deposit decision years later rests on evidence rather than memory. Washington’s duty to keep a rental fit to live in does not relax with age, so heat, plumbing and weatherproofing problems get scheduled, not deferred. Between tenancies we use the vacant window for the work that is hardest to do around an occupant, and owners see a written estimate before anything beyond routine repair goes ahead.
Des Moines Owner Communication While the Map Changes
The SR 509 expressway is scheduled to finish its last two miles in 2028, light rail has run from the city’s eastern edge since December 2025, and the Port of Seattle’s expansion plan is still under review, with the city among those that filed comments. The city’s middle housing rules now allow up to four units per lot, or 24 units per acre, whichever is greater, in its single-family zones, and up to three of those units can be accessory dwelling units. We report on the changes that touch a specific property, in plain terms, and send lot-specific questions to the city. Because a Des Moines rental license does not transfer on a sale, a newly purchased rental starts with a new application, which we raise at onboarding.
Marina slips, Link trains and Sea-Tac departures all sit within about six miles of any Des Moines rental. Price it to its own street, lease it to its own school district, and keep the city license current.
South Puget Sound Owners on RPM Today
Owners across the South Puget Sound region point to the same things a Des Moines house needs from its manager: a clean handoff, careful upkeep, and early word when something changes.
“They made the transition go smoothly from landlord to property management.”
Mr & Mrs Watts, Property Owners
“They treat your property like it’s their own.”
Bee Jay McKellar, Property Owner
“Very friendly staff, notices sent regularly when concerns arise.”
Ken Miller, Property Owner
What Drives Rental Performance in Des Moines
Des Moines rewards owners who treat each house as its own market inside a city of two school districts and one long shoreline.
- Keep the rent instruments apart. Zillow’s $2,055 asking rent and the Census Bureau’s $1,799 median for sitting tenants answer different questions, and neither one prices a specific three-bedroom house
- Confirm the school district by address. Highline covers the north and center of the city, and Federal Way Public Schools covers Redondo and the south end
- Describe location in measurable terms: straight-line distance to Sea-Tac, the trip to Kent Des Moines Station, and the airport’s proximity on north-end streets
- Budget for a 1974 median build year. Condition reports, scheduled system work and turnover repairs keep an older house competitive with new multifamily supply
- A current city license, a new one after a sale, at least 90 days’ notice on the state form for most tenancies, and the state cap (9.683% in any 12 months for 2026, with exemptions) shape every increase
Two Ways to Work With Us in Des Moines
Some Des Moines owners hand over the whole tenancy, from listing to renewal. Others want a qualified tenant placed and then run the lease themselves. Either way, owners keep access to financial reports, maintenance history, documents and messages.
Full-Service Property Management
For owners who want a Des Moines rental run day to day without being the first call when something breaks.
Our team covers:
- Rent analysis against comparable Des Moines homes, then listing and photography
- Showings, applications, and screening against the actual rent
- Washington lease preparation and a documented move-in condition report
- Collecting rent and sending owner distributions
- Maintenance coordination, routine and after-hours
- Periodic inspections with photographs kept on file
- City license tracking, 90-day increase notices, and state rent cap checks
- Renewals and lease updates
- Move-outs, deposit accounting, and legal steps when they become necessary
Lease-Only Services
For owners who want help choosing a tenant and plan to manage the Des Moines tenancy themselves once the lease is signed. The plan is priced as Tenant Placement Only.
Our team covers:
- Listing, photography, and marketing
- Showings scheduled around applicants
- Screening and application review
- Lease preparation and move-in
Once the tenant moves in, the owner runs the tenancy from there.
Des Moines in Context: Between Sea-Tac and Poverty Bay
Des Moines faces Puget Sound to the west, with Normandy Park on its northwest edge and SeaTac along the north and northeast. Kent borders the city on the east and holds both nearby Link stations, Kent Des Moines and Star Lake. Federal Way lies to the south and shares Federal Way Public Schools with Redondo. To the north, Burien touches the city’s northern tip beyond Normandy Park, shares Highline Public Schools with north Des Moines and joined Des Moines and SeaTac in commenting on the airport plan.
RPM Today manages rentals in each of these cities and across the South Sound communities we serve, so an owner with a condo near the Marina and a house in Kent works with one local team and one set of reports.
Frequently Asked Questions About Des Moines, WA Property Management
What is the average rent in Des Moines, WA?
Zillow’s rent index, which tracks asking rents on listings, put the typical Des Moines asking rent at $2,055 in September 2026, up 5.3% from $1,952 a year earlier. Among Des Moines, SeaTac, Burien, Federal Way and Kent, that is the highest level, and the growth rate narrowly leads SeaTac’s 5.2%.
The Census Bureau’s American Community Survey measures something else: what tenants already in place pay, including utilities, averaged over 2020 to 2024. Its median is $1,799, with two-bedroom units at $1,830 and three-bedroom units at $2,250. A specific house is priced against comparable homes nearby, not against either average.
Is Redondo part of Des Moines, WA?
Yes, the Redondo waterfront is. Redondo Beach and the city-run Redondo Boat Launch at 28280 Redondo Beach Dr S sit inside Des Moines city limits, at the south end of the city. Redondo homes are in Federal Way Public Schools rather than Highline. The Redondo name also carries inland, and some of those addresses are inside Federal Way city limits, so we confirm the city and the school district parcel by parcel before a home is listed.
Do I need a license to rent out a house in Des Moines, WA?
Yes. Chapter 5.04 of the Des Moines Municipal Code requires a City of Des Moines business license for residential rentals, and the city’s own rental applications name single-family homes, rooms, apartments and condos. A license does not transfer to a buyer; the new owner submits a new application. For fees, renewal timing and any other city requirement, the City of Des Moines is the source to check. A short-term rental of 30 nights or fewer also needs its own city permit.
How close is Des Moines, WA to Sea-Tac Airport and light rail?
The Des Moines Marina is about 3.2 miles in a straight line from the main terminal at Sea-Tac, and Highline College about 3.9 miles; drive times vary. Kent Des Moines Station, about 0.3 miles from Highline College just across the line in Kent, has a 500-space garage. Trains from there reach SeaTac/Airport in 7 minutes and Westlake in downtown Seattle in 45 to 46 minutes, about every 8 minutes between 7 and 9 a.m.
Which school district serves a Des Moines, WA rental?
Two districts divide the city. North and central Des Moines, including the Marina District and Highline College, is in Highline Public Schools, which reports more than 17,500 students in 34 schools. The south end, including Redondo, is in Federal Way Public Schools, which reports more than 22,000 students. In a Census Bureau boundary sample the line fell near S 252nd to S 254th Streets along 16th Ave S, so the district depends on the exact address.
Price a Des Moines Rental Against Its Own Street
If you own a rental between the Marina District and Redondo, a local manager can show you where it sits against a $2,055 typical asking rent, which school district and city license rules apply to it, and how the state cap shapes the next increase.
The evaluation is free and starts with the address, the build year and the current lease.
