Denver-area rents rising

Vacancy rates remain low and rents are rising, according to a report released today on the metro-Denver apartment market.

The average rent for apartments in metro Denver rose 7.1 percent from the second quarter of last year to the same period this year, according to the report by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the Colorado Division of Housing.

The year-over-year growth was the largest annual percentage range since the third quarter of 2011, when the average rent rose by 8.5 percent, shows the report .

During the second quarter of this year, the average rent in metro Denver rose $65 to $979 from last year’s second-quarter average rent of $915.

The average rent increased in all county areas, with Denver county and the Boulder/Broomfield area showing year-over-year increases of 75 dollars and 87 dollars respectively.

“Rents have been showing growth for the past two years, but during the second quarter, they really began to take off,” said Ron Throupe, professor of Real Estate at the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver, and the report’s author. “If you drill down into the numbers you find some even more dramatic growth such as the $99 increase in efficiency rents.”

The average rent in efficiency apartments in metro Denver increased from $674 during the second quarter of last year to $773 during the same period this year.

The highest rents at the county level were found in Douglas County where the average rent rose to $1,131 during the second quarter. The lowest rent at the county level was found in Adams County where the average rent rose to $906 during the second quarter.

Average rents by counties were:

• Adams, $906.
• Arapahoe, $956.
• Boulder/Broomfield, $1,091.
• Denver, $1,005.
• Douglas, $1,131.
• Jefferson, $919.

Rents rose as property owners responded to falling vacancy rates across the metro area.

The apartment vacancy rate in the Denver metro area fell to 4.8 percent in the second quarter from 4.9 percent in the first quarter, and remained unchanged from 2011’s second-quarter rate. The current rate is tied for the lowest vacancy rate seen in any quarter since the first quarter of 2001.

The vacancy Denver area vacancy rate has not risen year over year since the third quarter of 2009.

“You have to go back to the days of the dot-com boom to see lower vacancy rates than what we’re seeing right now, said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. “The demographics point toward growing demand and even through developers are looking to build new units, not that many units have been delivered yet.”

Of the 37 submarkets measured by the survey during the second quarter, 26 of them reported vacancy rates below 5 percent. Traditionally, a vacancy rate below five percent indicates a tight market. The submarkets reporting higher vacancy rates tended to be on the eastern side of the metro area including various parts of Aurora and southeast Denver.

Vacancy rates by county were:

• Adams, 4.9 percent.
• Arapahoe, 5.5 percent.
• Boulder/Broomfield, 3.6 percent.
• Denver, 4.8 percent.
• Douglas, 3.9 percent
• Jefferson, 4.0 percent.

The full report is available through the Apartment Association of Metro Denver at www.aamdhq.org; and limited information is available online at the Division of Housing web site: http://www.divisionofhousing.com.

Have a story idea or real estate tip? Contact John Rebchook at JRCHOOK@gmail.com. InsideRealEstateNews.com is sponsored by Universal Lending, Land Title Guarantee and 8z Real Estate.com.

Share this: