Getting your player ready...
Colorado apartment vacancies fell – in one case by more than 40 percent – and rents rose more modestly across the state during the fourth quarter from the fourth quarter of 2009, shows a new report. The robust market came despite limited wage and job growth, according to the report released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.
Year-over-year vacancies fell in Denver and five other metropolitan areas measured by the division, including Fort Collins, Loveland, Greeley, Grand Junction and Colorado Springs.
The largest drop in the vacancy rate was found in Grand Junction where the rate fell 43 percent to 7.5 percent from 13.2 percent. percent. The vacancy rate fell 35 percent in the Fort Collins/Loveland area and 30 percent in Greeley. The metro Denver vacancy rate, reported last month in a separate survey, also fell year-over-year to 5.5 percent from 7.7 percent, a 28.6 percent drop.
Denver, northern Colorado tight markets
“The Denver area and northern Colorado have some of the tightest markets right now,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the Division of Housing. “It’s not surprising that Fort Collins, which has one of the strongest job markets, also has some of the lowest vacancy rates.”
Vacancy rates in all metropolitan areas were Colorado Springs, 7.2 percent; Ft. Collins/Loveland, 4.1 percent; Grand Junction, 7.5 percent; Greeley, 5.1 percent; Pueblo, 10.2 percent.
In spite of falling vacancies, median rents showed limited growth across the state for the fourth quarter. The Fort Collins/Loveland area was the only area showing substantial increases in median rents. In the Fort Collins/Loveland region overall, the median rent increased 6.2 percent year-over-year from $821.29 to $872.83 during the fourth quarter. In Loveland, the median rents rose 22 percent from $751.00 to $916.45 during the same period.
In all other metro areas, the median rent either fell or rose by less than 2 percent. In Greeley, the average rent fell 0.4 percent from $619.58 to $616.79, year-over-year. The median rent also fell 0.6 percent in Grand Junction.
Rents only starting to catch up
“We’ve still only seen significant rent increases in certain areas of the state,” said Gordon Von Stroh, a professor of business at the University of Denver, and the report’s author. “But I do expect to see rent growth become more common and more widespread as time goes on.”
Median rents in all metropolitan areas measured were Colorado Springs, $711.12, Ft. Collins/Loveland, $872.83; Grand Junction, $637.37; Greeley, $616.79; Pueblo, $483.14. The metro Denver median rent, measured in a separate survey, was $846.36 for the fourth quarter.
