New data on apartment vacancies across the state shows a surprisingly strong demand for housing, in spite of limited wage and job growth.
The vacancy rate for the Fort Collins/Loveland area fell 35 percent during the fourth quarter of 2010 compared to the same time a year ago, to 4.1 percent. The rate in Greeley fell 30 percent to 5.1.
The report says northern Colorado is seeing some of its tightest rental markets in years, and it’s partly because of the area’s relative resilience in terms of jobs.
“Traditionally the Fort Collins/Loveland area has had one of the more successful job markets, so we didn’t see as much in terms of job losses up in Larimer County,” says Ryan McMaken with the Colorado Division of Housing. “And we’ve seen those areas bounce back more than the state overall, and even more than metro Denver.”
McMaken says in spite of the high demand for rental properties, median rents increased only slightly across most of the state, with the exception of the Fort Collins-Loveland area, which saw median rents increase about 6 percent overall, and by 22 percent in Loveland specifically.