The just-released Denver Metro Apartment Vacancy and Rent report for the second quarter of 2017 shows the average rent rose to $1,419.74/month, a gain of almost $37. The vacancy rate dropped from 5.7% to 5.0%.

 

In the first six months of 2017, 9,012 net apartment units have been filled. That number was 11,056 for all of last year. I realize that I'm throwing a bunch of numbers at you, but that's pretty mind-blowing. People continue to move to Denver in droves. and the housing supply, both for rent and purchase, can not keep pace with it.

 

These quarterly reports are prepared by University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business and Colorado Economic and Management Associates:

 

Average monthly rent for the second quarter rose $36.98 to $1,419.74, hitting another rental high. Median rent rose $31.21 to $1,376.79, according to the Denver Metro Apartment Vacancy and Rent report from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business and Colorado Economic and Management Associates.

But the big takeaway from this report, said its author, Ron Throupe, is that 4,348 apartments were filled in the quarter, outpacing the 2,152 new units added. Since January, 9,012 net units have been filled, making it a strong year so far. In comparison, 11,056 net units were absorbed in all of 2016.

In layman’s terms: Demand is high — which, again, may make Denver renters groan. But on the bright side, Harvard Extension School real estate instructor Teo Nicolais said, high demand means you’re living in a desirable place.

“Denver has been discovered, but we should (feel) lucky,” said Nicolais, who lives in Denver. “A lot of cities are cheap to live in, but it’s cheap to live in because no one wants to live there.”

Denver’s vacancy rate dropped to 5 percent from 5.7 percent in the second quarter, according to the report. That’s not surprising considering the state has the nation’s lowest unemployment rate (2.3 percent) and millennials continue to flock here. The rate in Denver is 2.4 percent.

The market needs a degree of vacancy, allowing for people to move around. Nicolais said the magic number is 6 percent. If the vacancy rate is below 6 percent, rent prices typically go up. If it’s higher, rent typically drops.

But there may be a shining light on the horizon as more red ribbons are cut on apartments.

Although new construction dropped in the second quarter, adding 2,152 units compared with the previous quarter’s 3,246 units, the metro area is still on track for another record-breaking year of apartment construction. In 2010, Denver built 497 apartment units, he said. The metro area now builds that many in two weeks. 

For more numbers and analysis, click here to read the complete Denver Post article.