John Rebchook is a former Rocky Mountain News reporter with more than 30 years of experience in writing and communications... The harsh apartment climate in the Denver area is highlighted by an 11.4 percent vacancy rate in the university submarket in the City of Boulder.
That is the highest vacancy rate since the fourth quarter of 2003, when it stood at 12.5 percent. And it is 58.3 percent higher than the overall apartment vacancy rate for Boulder County, according to a recent Apartment Association of Metro Denver second-quarter report.
And perhaps most astounding, it is a 159 percent increase where the vacancy rate stood for the submarket during the second quarter 2008, when it was at a much-more typical 4.4 percent.
“That is a huge jump,” said Terrance Hunt, a broker with Apartment Realty Advisors. “I’ve not seen a jump like that before. Usually, it has a pretty solid vacancy rate at around or below 5 percent.”
Gordon Von Stroh, the University of Denver professor who authored the report, said the high vacancy rate is a sign of how reluctant students and parents are to pay what have always been historically high rental rates.
“It shows the hesitation and concerns, of parents as well as students, to spend that kind of money,” Von Stroh said.
Ryan McMaken, researcher for the Colorado Division of Housing, one of the sponsors of the apartment report, said that student are “living farther out,” to find cheaper housing, whether it is North Boulder, or Louisville or Longmont.
“And if you’re attending CU and your from Arvada or Westminster, your parents will say, “You’ve got a Ford Escort – commute,” McMaken said. Reportedly, he said, a record number of freshman also are requesting waivers not to live in dorms, because they want less expensive housing and dining options.
Second Quarter Apartment Vacancy Rates for University area of Boulder
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Source: Gordon Von Stroh
In retrospect, The Ford Escort comment just illustrates that I’m old since the car was discontinued in 2002. However, if someone’s kid actually is driving a Ford Escort, that person deserves an award for frugality.
I don’t know, Ryan. The Escort seems perfect to me. I probably would have said a Plymouth Horizon, really dating myself.