The Business Record recently assembled a group of experts to talk about the Des Moines area housing sector and its outlook for 2026.

Panelists who took part in the Business Record’s Project515 on housing included Curtis Brown, assistant city manager, city of Urbandale; Robert Hartwig, president, Iowa Bankers Mortgage Corp.; Chris Pickard, owner, Sage Homes, and president of the Home Builders Association of Greater Des Moines; Scott Steelman, real estate agent with Iowa Realty Co. and first vice president, Des Moines Area Association of Realtors; and Matt Weller, vice president of development, Hubbell Realty Co.

"Our renters are pairing up into roommate scenario situations or paring down into smaller, more affordable units. What does that mean? Instead of renting a 750-square-foot, one-bedroom apartment, they are looking at a [smaller] one-bedroom apartment."

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