Denver rent, which is still higher than pre-pandemic levels, could be falling in the months to come. Eviction filings, on the other hand, are rising.
Online rental market Apartment List's monthly rent report cites the November median price of a one-bedroom is $1,399 and a two-bedroom is $1,731. That's down 1.5% from October.
While prices are still up 1.7% year over year, that's nothing compared to how much they jumped last year in the city, year-over-year, at this time: 17.7%.
Nationally, rents dropped 1% from October to November, half a point lower than in Denver, where they dropped 1.5%. Across the country, they are up 4.6% year over year.
In short, Denver has seen a rise in rent since the beginning of the pandemic, but that is likely trending down.
Apartment List's research team notes the drop in rent has to do with the addition of supply, including the opening of new apartment buildings and higher vacancies across the market.
There is also a typical seasonal cooldown in December, though Apartment List's team predicts prices will continue dropping into the new year.
Of large cities in the United States, Seattle saw the sharpest drop in rent prices: 2.6% from one month to the next.
Sun Belt markets, including Las Vegas, Phoenix, Jacksonville and Riverside, have experienced 30% growth since March 2020. In the past 12 months, none has seen more than 1% growth, according to the report.
Near Denver, Lone Tree has seen exceptional rental price growth -- 13% year over year, and 2.6% in the past month. The only other cities in the metro area to see higher prices from October to November were Glendale, at .6% and Parker at .9%. Wheat Ridge saw the sharpest drop at 3.2%.
Eviction filing rates in Denver are peaking above the pre-pandemic levels of 2019.
From August through November, there were 3,580 eviction filings this year, according to Denver County Court records, a massive jump from the first two years of the pandemic. In the same period in 2019, before COVID-19 hit, there were still fewer: 3031.
Eviction filings do not reflect the total number of people who lost their homes to eviction. An unknown number of tenants decide to move after they are initially warned about eviction and before their cases go to court.
