The number of people looking to rent in Colorado or Washington has increased dramatically in the last six months. You might even say that interest in the two states is sky high.
But why? What makes renters want to weed through all the other states and plant their flag in Colorado or Washington?
Let’s see. The two states’ football teams faced off in the Super Bowl this year, so maybe people are jumping on the Seahawks or Broncos bandwagon. Both states also offer a high quality of life. According to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index, both Colorado and Washington ranked in the top 10 states with the highest well-being in 2013.
Plus there’s plenty of green space in both states for those who love being among the trees, bushes and plants.
All of those things certainly have to be a draw for prospective renters, but let’s be blunt here. Where there’s smoke, there’s probably fire.
Colorado and Washington just happen to be the two states where marijuana has recently become legal. That might have been one small factor that sparked the joint interest in the Centennial and Evergreen states.
In the last six months, the number of people searching for rentals in Colorado jumped 26.27% from the same time period last year, according to data from ApartmentGuide.com. Washington also saw an increase of 24.51% in the number of people looking to rent in the state.
ApartmentGuide.com also reports that the number of people from outside the two states looking for rental properties in the states has dramatically increased over the same time period.
The number of people looking to move to Colorado and jumped by 19.2% in the last six months. The rate of prospective Washingtonians rose by 13.38% as well.
Many of those prospective renters may just be college students. According to The College Fix, Colorado colleges have seen a surge in applications since marijuana became legal in the state on January 1.
It makes you wonder. Will other states follow suit once they see the economic impact of legalized marijuana? Will the rise in renters lead to a chronic shortage of available rentals in the states?
No matter what, the rental market in Washington and Colorado is a budding gold mine. Real estate investors might be wise to plant their seeds now and then wait for the green to flow in.
