The average cost to rent an apartment in Colorado Springs is up nearly 10 percent over this time last year. Renting one now will cost you an average of nearly $1,600 a month.
That’s a $900 increase over the last ten years.
A new report from Ron Throupe, a researcher at the University of Denver, says the average rent for a home in Colorado Springs was $1,570 last quarter — April, May and June. That’s up from $1,497 in the first quarter of this year and $1,429 at this time last year.
In addition, supply is down. The city’s apartment vacancy rate dropped from 5 percent in the first quarter to 4.25 percent in the second quarter. Researchers say they expect vacancy rates to fluctuate because of seasonal changes in leases, but historically there is less vacancy in the second and third quarters of the year.
And far fewer new units are being built this year compared with last year as more people move to the area.
In total, just 62 new apartment units were added in the period, bringing the total number of new apartments built in Colorado Springs this year to 290. That’s well short of the 1,700 new units added in all of 2021.
Researchers also say inflation and building costs have hampered growth and are adding to the rising costs.
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