Apartment vacancies dipped while rental rates increased during the third quarter, according to statistics released Thursday.
The vacancy rate for metro Denver dropped to 6.7 percent, compared with 6.9 percent during the previous quarter, according to the Apartment Vacancy and Rent Survey.
The average rental rate increased 2.6 percent to $865.76 for the third quarter.
“The rental increases are mostly on the upper end,” said Kathi Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing.
A record number of foreclosures and rising interest rates are pushing more people back into rental housing.
Most industry observers expected a bigger decline in the vacancy rate, said Gordon Von Stroh, a University of Denver management professor who compiles the quarterly report.
Von Stroh said he expects the fourth quarter to be stable.
Still, apartments continue to be attractive to investors, said Michael Easter, vice president of CBRE Melody & Co.
“Investors are looking at trends and seeing growth and starting to capitalize on that,” Easter said. “They’re getting away from the idea of apartments being a commodity and putting money into units.”
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
