Local developers seek to focus on the long-range view.
Story By Tracy Dickinson | July 2026
Even the most skilled economist can only predict market activity with a limited level of accuracy. And every business owner knows that statistics and last year’s numbers are merely tools, not a guarantee, in forecasting future activity and risk.
Those predictions are even more challenging with land development because today’s projects are unlikely to result in sales for 18 to 24 months or more.
In a booming economy, the risks seem minimal. When activity slows down, as it has in the home construction market over the last 18 months, accurately gauging risk becomes crucial.
On the following pages, local developers share their perspectives on the home construction market in central Iowa. More focused on the forest than the trees, these professionals offer a more realistic long-term view, despite some concerns about current events.
Kevin Johnson
President | Accurate Development
Although Accurate Development’s Kevin Johnson says the company saw a brief period of silence during 2025, activity picked up during the last quarter of the year and has remained steady since.
“We’ve sold quite a few residential lots, and inquiries are up. So I expect our lot sales to be strong this year,” he says. “We don’t build a lot of houses. We do more development and lot sales, but our custom-home projects have stayed steady.”
As peak construction season began, Johnson says he was keeping an eye on activity in the Middle East. “What’s happening in Iran is probably the biggest factor that could affect us. The last time we had big spikes in fuel prices, we looked at how that affected some of our key commodities. Lumber, for example, is touched by fuel and transportation costs eight times before it reaches us. If gas prices spike, that can have a dramatic effect on prices.”
That being said, Johnson says the company has always tried to take a long-term but conservative approach to business. “It can be two-plus years before we see a return on a project once we start one. We try to take on as much as we can but not get pinched too much if things slow down. Gauging land development is the hardest. You need to be conservative but not hesitant.”
Having experienced major downturns in the construction market over his 35 years in business, Johnson says the current slowdown is not as dramatic. “But it could be four or five years before we’re completely out of it, and there’s likely to be another downturn before it’s over.”
Johnson is typically optimistic about the central Iowa construction industry. But he has concerns about the market in 2026. “I don’t tend to worry about things I can’t control,” he says. “But if I’m watching anything, it’s interest rates and the war in Iran. If that drags on and remains an unknown, everything is affected.”
While Accurate Development keeps an eye on those larger issues, the company is focused on projects here at home. “We started grading the third phase of our Bentley Ridge development, so we should have lots ready in the next six to nine months,” he says. “And we’re really excited about the development we started last year, Ridgeview at Maffitt Lake. We’re in the first phase of a large project south of the river that’s in West Des Moines and part of the West Des Moines school district.”
Johnson says, “Things seem great right now. The biggest unknown is Iran, and all we can do is keep an eye on it.”
In the meantime, the company is staying the course.
Kevin Johnson | President
Accurate Development | AccurateDevelopment.com
Bill Kimberley
President | Kimberley Development
Decades in the business helped give Kimberley Development wisdom in dealing with the market slowdown over the past couple of years.
“We knew 2025 wasn’t going to be a gangbuster year,” says Bill Kimberley. “So we set our expectations accordingly, and we met those goals. It ended up being a decent year for us.”
Anticipating that the slowdown that began a few years ago would continue, Kimberley scaled back on the pace of some projects, which served the company well.
“We sold down a lot of the projects we’d developed over the past two or three years,” Kimberley says. “We’re starting four new plats this year. I don’t see this as a big turnaround year, but we’re being somewhat optimistic.”
Like other local professionals believe, Kimberley says the activity in Iran will affect all areas of the U.S. economy, including the construction trades.
“As a developer, we have to start projects now if we’re going to have lots available two years from now. And the current inventory of lots is starting to get slim,” he says. “That’s part of the reason development isn’t really slowing down much.”
Kimberley says most people expected interest rates to drop more than they did in 2025, so that remains a factor this year. “Because rates didn’t drop much, there’s a concern that inflation will kick in and cause a bigger slowdown. The situation right now is nothing like it was back in 2008. But the brightest economic minds in the country can’t predict what’s going to happen tomorrow let alone six months or a year from now. So many things are out of our control.”
Kimberley Development continues to offer custom and semi-custom residential construction. Lot sales to other builders are remaining steady this year. “We’ve developed quite a few lots for other builders and even some of the national builders that are entering the local market,” Kimberley says. The company has plats in development around the metro, including Urbandale, Ankeny, Elkhart, and Des Moines.
“We’re working on another plat at Kimberley Estates in Ankeny, that has large lots for executive-level homes,” he says. “That’s been a nice project for us. And we’re bringing on more lots up in Elkhart at Kimberley Woods.”
Kimberley is excited about the Brook Landing project underway in Des Moines, offering move-in-ready homes primarily on half-acre lots.
With sites ranging from Waukee and Van Meter to Carlisle, Bondurant, and Polk City, Kimberley has diverse projects that include townhomes, move-in-ready single-family, and custom executive homes.
“There’s not a major lot shortage right now,” says Kimberley. “If we continue developing at a careful pace, there should be a strong inventory for the next few years when we hope the economy will pick up a bit.”
Bill Kimberley | President
Kimberley Development | KimDev.com
Eric Grubb
Owner | Solid Ground
As with other local developers, Solid Ground’s Eric Grubb says 2025 met expectations. “Supply and demand were relatively in balance,” he says, “and inflation from the COVID years continued to level off. Interest rates didn’t fluctuate much, so central Iowa continued to experience reasonable growth last year.”
Although he expects 2026 to be similar, he says that might be a disappointment to some in the industry. “Many developers, builders, REALTOR®s, and contractors had high hopes that this spring season would see an acceleration. There were some encouraging signs: strong employment numbers, growing corporate earnings, softening inflation, and interest rates were trending lower. But the reality is the year is now looking average at best.”
Grubb says a number of factors have played into that “average” pace and could have long-term effects as well. “The big spoiler coming into the spring was the return of high interest rates due to higher inflation, a by-product of the surprise war with Iran. What everyone hoped would be a few weeks of pain and uncertainty now looks to be more of a medium- to long-term rearrangement of the entire global oil market, leading to higher inflation and ultimately higher interest rates potentially for years to come.”
Despite those shadows hanging over the market, Grubb is fairly optimistic about the local development and construction industry. Current lot availability and land in development indicate a healthy metro, given the current state of sales velocity and demand.
“There are always pockets within the metro that see their own mini supply and demand imbalances,” he says. “That usually lasts anywhere from one to three years before the market adjusts. For example, Grimes had a few years where there was hardly a lot available, but now there’s an abundance.” As Grubb looks toward the remainder of 2026, he says Solid Ground is holding to the status quo. “We typically have five to ten projects in various stages of the development cycle, and we’ve recently made some longer-term hold land purchases that we feel good about. In the meantime, the focus is on actively working to refill the development pipeline with the final plats under construction on some projects we started several years ago.”
Because Des Moines is somewhat insulated from the extreme highs and lows that often affect other parts of the country, Grubb says he expects 2026 to be “business as usual” for the most part. “A resolution with Iran may provide some inflation and interest rate relief. But we also need to keep an eye on both global and U.S. deficit spending and debt. Locally, I’m also interested in how the entrance of another national homebuilder will play out. But we’re generally feeling bullish about the metro market this year.”
Eric Grubb | Owner
Solid Ground | SolidGroundIowa.com
Tim Portzen
Vice President | Diligent Development
What started out as a slower year ultimately surpassed expectations for Diligent Development in 2025 due to a couple of key projects.
“We brought on one of our biggest plats since COVID, and 75% is sold,” says Diligent’s Tim Portzen. “And we also had a small plat in Norwalk that was 100% presold when we delivered it.”
As the new year began, however, Portzen says things slowed down again and have remained slower than normal through the spring. “I’m hopeful things will pick up as far as lot sales go. The development cycle is what it is. Once you break ground and start the process, you just go with it.”
Diligent has made a practice of pacing new development as existing lots are nearly turned over, which has turned out to be successful strategy. “It seems that we’re bringing on a new plat about every other year, which has worked well,” Portzen says. “We’re not looking to put in a ton of lots this year. But despite a slow start, things seem strong.”
Portzen anticipates 2026 will be slightly better than 2025 overall, absent any major market changes. “We didn’t see dramatic interest rate fluctuations or price hikes last year. And the longer things stay less dramatic, the better. And getting some distance between the present and those dramatically low COVID interest rates helps, too,” he says.
Portzen is also watching international events and national politics. But he says local policy could play as big a role in the metro housing market. “There have been a lot of legislative discussions over the past few years that could have a major impact on development and housing. Nothing too drastic has happened yet. But continued discussions on local budget caps, Tax Increment Financing reform, rollback changes, and more have some folk as cautious about local politics as they are about where the Fed will take interest rates.”
Portzen says Diligent’s niche products have kept activity steady for the company. “Middlebrook is still strong, and we’re finishing our first townhome project there with units listing under $400,000. We’re also preselling properties in our cottage neighborhood, with almost one-third sold already. There’s a pent-up demand for single-family homes at that price point, which has been great for us.”
The cottages, two-bedroom bungalow-style homes with garages on small lots similar to the Beaverdale neighborhood in Des Moines, start around $320,000 and border the bike trail and other popular amenities in Cumming.
Diligent recently reintroduced the Warrior Run development in Norwalk located on a former golf course, which also features the Flamingo Lounge in the old clubhouse.
“There are things to keep an eye on as we forecast for the future,” Portzen says. “But we’re bullish about where the market is heading and about the metro as a whole.”
Tim Portzen | Vice President
Diligent Development | DiligentDevelopment.com