Most Denverites have probably noticed all the apartment buildings being built in recent years. It turns out that those buildings are taking a while to fill — and that’s good news for renters.
The vacancy rate for apartments in the metro Denver area was 11 percent as of October, according to real estate data company CoStar.
That’s roughly double the vacancy rate of a few years ago, according to CoStar, which also owns Apartments.com, one of the biggest online rental portals in the U.S.
Apartment landlords are offering up large concessions in order to fill up all those empty units, according to Jeannie Tobin, director of market analytics for Denver at CoStar.
“It’s an excellent time to be an apartment hunter,” Tobin said. “What's typical in a market during normal times is [that for] a property in lease up, they typically offer between two to four weeks of free rent. We've seen that go all the way up to eight weeks of free rent right now.”
Rent still isn’t exactly cheap in Denver.
Rents are down roughly 2.5 percent from a year ago, according to CoStar.
The average rent for a one-bedroom apartment in metro Denver is $1,686 per month, CoStar data show. That’s down a mere $16 from $1,702 per month a year ago.
But there are deals out there as the wave of new apartments swamps the market. Rents fell by 1.7 percent in just one month in October, the largest monthly decline in rents since CoStar started tracking the data in 2000.
Perks and deals await apartment hunters right now.
Landlords are willing to make deals on lease renewals as well as on brand-new units because they want to hang on to good tenants, according to Tobin.
“It's easier to keep people than get new people right now. And so even people who are up for renewals are getting some kind of concessions provided they sign a year lease,” she said.
There are also perks to enjoy when you show up to an apartment building in person. Landlords are getting creative and offering things like free internet and fresh flower deliveries. But you won’t find those kinds of things advertised online.
“You typically find them when you go tour the property, and it’s like, ‘If you sign in the next 24 hours, we will give you these additional perks.’”
The good times might be over soon.
The number of apartments being built is way down this year. That will give landlords room to raise rents again once they work through the backlog.
Things could start to turn around in the spring when the peak leasing season starts.
“Now is probably the best deal you’re going to get,” Tobin said. “It’s setting up for a pretty big recovery by next year and into 2026.”
