The single-family rental vacancy rate in the metro Denver area has fallen to an all-time low. And while demand for the properties is high, rents aren’t keeping pace with inflation.
The vacancy rate for single-family homes, condos and other small properties across metro Denver fell to 1.4% in the first quarter of the year. That’s compared to 3.1% for the first quarter of 2010. Colorado Division of Housing Spokesman Ryan Mcmaken says in spite of declining vacancies, rents are largely flat across the metro area.
“We continue to have an ongoing situation where, very slowly, new inventory is being added to the market. As you can guess, this is through foreclosure, through people who would like to sell their homes but have concluded that it’s not the best time to sell so they rent out their homes instead,” says McMaken.
That steady stream of new available properties has thus far kept rents from going up, though McMaken says data collected shows that rents will likely increase in the near future. Adams County had the largest vacancy rate at 1.9%. The Denver County vacancy rate was 1.3 %, while there were no vacancies among the units surveyed in Boulder County.
