The average rent in the Colorado Springs metro
area rose year over year for the tenth quarter in a row, climbing 2.3 percent during
the second quarter to $776. According to a report released today by the
Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of Southern
Colorado, the average rent for the region was up from $759 reported during the
second quarter of last year, and was also up from 2012’s first-quarter average
rent of $754.
The average rent increased
year over year in all sub-markets measured during the second quarter except the
Southeast region where the average rent fell 5.1 percent to $638. The average
rent increased the most in the Security/Widefield/Fountain region where it was
up 7.9 percent, year over year, to $622.
“The rent growth in the metro
area continues, but the rate of increase has fallen off recently,” said Ron
Throupe, a professor of real estate at the University of Denver’s
Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management, and the report’s
author. “The weak employment situation in the region is not ideal for pushing
rents, so we’re seeing some moderation there.”
Average rents for all market
areas were: Northwest, $851; Northeast, $755; Far Northeast, $886, Southeast, $638;
Security/Widefield/Fountain, $622; Southwest, $783; Central, $738.
The apartment vacancy rate in
the Colorado Springs
metro area fell to 6.0 percent during the second quarter, falling from last
year’s second-quarter vacancy rate of 6.4 percent. This year’s second-quarter
rate was also down from the first-quarter rate which was 6.4 percent.
The vacancy rate declined
year over year in the Northwest, Far Northeast, Southeast and
Security/Widefield/Fountain areas of Colorado
Springs, while the vacancy rate increased during the
same period in the Northwest, Southwest and Central areas.
The largest decreases in vacancies
are found in the Southeast region of the metro area and in the
Security/Widefield/Fountain area. In both areas, vacancies rates were often
found to be 15 percent or more over the past decade, but in recent quarters the
vacancy rate in both areas has fallen below 10 percent.
“The vacancy rate during the
second quarter was one of the lowest we’ve seen in Colorado Springs since 2001,” said Ryan
McMaken, a spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing. “The rate is
hovering around 6 percent right now, which is significantly lower than the
eight-to-twelve percent vacancies we saw regularly from 2003 to 2009.”
Vacancy rates for all market
areas were: Northwest, 4.4 percent; Northeast, 6.7 percent; Far Northeast, 4.8
percent, Southeast, 8.8 percent; Security/Widefield/Fountain, 3.6 percent;
Southwest, 5.1 percent; Central, 8.0 percent.
