Lots of new Denver apartments means high vacancy rates this year, report says

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Modernist architecture has become a Highland staple. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite) architeture; apartment; home; residential; highland; modern; denverite; denver; colorado; kevinjbeaty

Apartments in the Highland neighborhood. (Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite)

When it comes to homes that you can buy, Denver has very low inventory and not enough new ones on the way.

But if you're looking for an apartment, expect almost the opposite this year, says a report from real estate firm Marcus and Millichamp

Among the 46 markets in their report, Denver had the seventh-highest projected vacancy rate for 2017. Conversely, Denver is expected to have the seventh-most completed units during 2017. Altogether, that means that supply will actually outpace demand this year, they said.

That doesn't mean your rent will go down, though. Because single-family houses are in such short supply, renters are staying in their units for longer stretches, says Marcus and Millichamp.

Accordingly, the agency expects that rents will rise 3.5 percent this year, but that's at least an improvement from rents rising 6 percent in 2016.

Finally, if you're wondering where to expect all the new apartments in Denver, downtown seems like a pretty good bet. MPF research found that the downtown-Highland-Lincoln Park area was the nation's seventh busiest submarket for apartment construction.

Since 2012, the area has gained 4,824 new apartments, plus there were an additional 4,910 units under construction in the first quarter 2016. Of those units, 2,835 are expected to be complete by in the first quarter 2017.

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