Denver apartment vacancies reached a 10-year low last quarter, according to a report by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the Colorado Division of Housing.
The vacancy rate dropped to 4.8% in Q2 compared to 5.5% the previous quarter. In total, the vacancy rate fell 21% year-over-year and is the lowest reading since the beginning of 2001.
“A vacancy rate below five-percent is generally regarded as a sign that the market is tight,” said Gordon Von Stroh, a business professor at the University of Denver and the report's author. “The vacancy numbers haven't been lower than this since before the dot-com bust in Colorado, and that was a period marked by a scarcity of rental housing in many areas.”
Von Stroh said the unemployment rate, tightened credit and higher downpayments are causing people to move into single-family residences including apartments rather than purchase a new home.
According to the Colorado Division of Housing, all state counties showed a decrease in their vacancy rate.
With fewer vacancies, the median rent in metro Denver rose to $863 in the second quarter, an increase of almost 3% from the year ago.
Other counties in the state that saw higher rents include Adams, Jefferson and Arapahoe.
