The Denver area’s apartment vacancy rate rose to just over 5% for the fourth quarter of 2013, the highest rate in two years.
Ryan McMaken, an economist with the Colorado Division of Housing, says most of the vacancies are due to more apartments coming on to the market.
"From 2011 to 2012 the number of new multi-family units more than doubled," McMaken said. "It’s really moderated over the past year, in 2013, it increased by only about 30%."
But McMaken cautions that more apartments, and more vacancies, do not translate necessarily into lower rents.
The units being built tend to be on a more expensive scale.
The average monthly rent in Denver increased more than 6% percent last year to $1041.
