Vacancies in
for-rent condos, single-family homes, and other small properties across metro Denver fell during the
second quarter, dropping year over year to 2.0 percent. The vacancy rate rose
slightly from the first quarter of this year to the second quarter, but vacancies
have remained consistently scarce since the end of 2009. According to a report released Thursday by the
Colorado Division of Housing, the metro-wide vacancy rate during the second
quarter of 2012 was down from 2011’s second-quarter rate of 2.6 percent while it
was up from 2012’s first-quarter rate of 1.6 percent.
At the county level,
the lowest vacancy rates were found in Denver
County and in Douglas County
where the vacancy rates were 1.4 percent and 1.8 percent, respectively.
Vacancy rates for
all counties surveyed were: Adams, 2.2 percent; Arapahoe, 1.9 percent; Boulder/Broomfield,
2.6 percent, Denver, 1.4 percent; Douglas, 1.8
percent; and Jefferson, 2.5 percent.
“All county areas
are now showing vacancy rates below three percent as renters have expanded their
searches to include the less-popular areas,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for
the Colorado Division of Housing. “There was more variation in the past, but even
those areas that had historically higher vacancies have now filled in.”
In spite of
historically low vacancy rates, growth in the average rent for rental houses,
townhomes and other small properties have been modest during recent quarters. The
average rent in metro Denver
for single-family and similar properties fell to $1,060 during 2012’s second
quarter, falling 0.3 percent from 2011’s second-quarter average rent of $1,063.
The second quarter’s average rent this year was up from the first quarter’s
average rent of $1,056. Average rents
are not adjusted for inflation.
The average rent
rose, year over year, in all county areas except in Adams
County, Arapahoe
County and Denver County.
In Adams County,
the average rent fell 6.9 percent year over year and it fell 6.5 percent year
over year in Arapahoe
County. The average rent
was flat in Denver
County at $1,007 over the
same period. Growth in the average rent
was strongest in Jefferson
County where it grew 3.0
percent from 2011’s second quarter to 2012’s second quarter.
“Although vacancies
were very low during the second quarter, we find that there is still a
reluctance to increase rents significantly in some areas,” McMaken said. “High turnover, which can increase if rents
are pushed too aggressively, is more costly and time consuming for a small
owner of one or two single-family units than it is for a large apartment
management firm.”
On a per-square-foot
basis, however, the average rent rose to 86 cents during the second quarter of
2012 to tie the highest per-square-foot rent ever recorded by the survey.
Average rents for all counties were: Adams, $1,053; Arapahoe, $1,007; Boulder/Broomfield,
$1,570; Denver, $1,007; Douglas, $1,430; and Jefferson, $1,038.
