The average rent for a Denver metro area apartment grew 7.1% over last year in the second quarter, the highest growth rate in 11 years, according to a new report from the Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.
In the Denver metro area alone, the average apartment rental rate increased by $64 from $915 in the second-quarter of last year to $979 in the most recent report.
The rates continued to surge in 2Q as vacancy rates declined, providing landlords with less supply to meet more demand.
In Denver alone, the apartment vacancy rate fell to 4.8% in the second quarter, making it one of the lowest vacancy rates since the first quarter of 2001, the Colorado Division of Housing said.
The vacancy rate also declined slightly from 2012’s first quarter rate of 4.9%.
“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 though developers are looking to build new units, not that many units have been delivered yet.”
The study analyzed 37 rental submarkets in the Denver metro area in the second quarter. Of those submarkets, 26 of them saw their vacancy rates fall below 5%.
The highest rents were reported in Douglas County, where the average rent hit $1,131 in the second quarter. Douglas County is located between Denver and Colorado Springs.
The lowest rents were found in Adams County, where the average rental rate hit $906 in the second quarter. The county seat of Adams is Brighton, Colo.
