NOTE: The statewide vacancy data is approximately three months old by the time it is released. Many apartment owners have seen vacancies increase and incentives reappear in the last two to three months.
DENVER – Bucking a statewide trend, apartment vacancies in Fort Collins, Loveland and Greeley declined during the third quarter of 2008, according to a state housing division survey. At the same time rents rose sharply during the past year, the survey shows.
While Colorado’s overall vacancy rate rose to 6.6 percent this year from the 5.7 percent reported during the third quarter of 2007, the rate in Fort Collins shrunk by nearly a full percentage point to 4.1 percent from 5 percent a year earlier. Loveland’s rate fell more steeply, from 5.9 percent to 3.5 percent. Greeley landlords reported a decline from 8.1 percent to 5.5 percent.
The tight rental housing market also drove rents upward during the year. The average rent in the unified Fort Collins-Loveland market climbed almost 13 percent from a year ago, from $757 to $854. Greeley’s average rent increase was much smaller, rising just 5 percent from $622 to $655.
Colorado Division of Housing officials said the credit squeeze and the state of the overall economy were affecting the rental market in some pockets of the state.
“Getting a home loan isn’t easy like it used to be, and that means some potential homeowners will need to stay in rental housing longer in order to save a down-payment for a purchase,” agency director Kathi Williams said in a statement that accompanied the survey results. “On the other hand, a soft economy means that renters and potential renters are more likely to double-up with roommates, or live with their parents, or rent a less expensive apartment.”
The quarterly survey, commissioned by the state housing agency, is the work of University of Denver business professor Gordon Von Stroh. The complete report on vacancies and rents, broken down by property type and location, is available at the housing division’s Web site, http://dola.colorado.gov/cdh.