The Southwest region, including Denver, is expected to lead the nation in population growth through 2020, according to a report to be released today by NAI Global.
People are moving to the region for a better quality of life, and companies are following in their quest for an educated workforce.
That’s a driving force behind Denver’s tightening commercial real estate market, said Greg Morris, president and chief executive of Fuller Real Estate.
“Virtually all product types are healthy right now and improving,” Morris said. “Vacancies are dropping and rents are moving up.”
Small- to mid-size tenants are generating the most leasing activity, which is preferable to relying on one or two big companies to lease large blocks of space, Morris said.
“The other thing that’s changing in Denver is the urban lifestyle and number of residential units being built downtown,” he said. “Ten years ago after 5 p.m., everybody went home and Denver was pretty quiet. Now we’re moving into a 24/7 downtown.”
With about 2.4 million people, Denver-Aurora is the nation’s 26th largest metropolitan service area. It has the 10th-largest downtown district in the country. The median age is 33, and 66 percent of the population is between 18 and 65 years old, according to the NAI Global report.
Denver-Aurora also has a large government presence, second only to Washington, D.C. The federal agencies have attracted complementary firms in the energy, defense and aerospace business, the report says.
Staff writer Margaret Jackson can be reached at 303-954-1473 or mjackson@denverpost.com.
