It got more expensive to rent in Denver last quarter and more difficult to even find an apartment to throw money at in the first place.
While the average rent soared to a record high of $1,371 in the second quarter, the average vacancy rate for apartments in metro Denver dropped from 6.1 percent to 5.4 percent, the Denver Post reports.
Those numbers come from a quarterly survey from the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business, Colorado Economic and Management Associates, and the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.
Here's what happened:
Those vacancy rates started to look better last year, when developers were completing a lot of apartment buildings, according to the Post. And the survey backs up what we can see: developers are still developing. New construction added 2,442 unites in the second quarter. But that only softened the blow as renters snatched up 4,189 units.
With a smaller supply of apartments and a continued demand, the cost to rent went up.
Ron Throupe, an associate professor of real estate at DU, told the Post rents rose $56.
If you're looking to live in Wheat Ridge or Arvada, you might want to reconsider. The survey found that Arvada's second-quarter vacancy was just 2 percent, and that only 1 percent of Wheat Ridge apartments were vacant.
