Apartment rents in the metro Denver area rose an average of $32 per month in the second quarter, which is fairly typical for that time of year. 

Average rents now stand at $1,878, a 2% increase year-over-year, according to the second quarter Vacancy & Rent report from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver released Tuesday.

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The median Denver area rent stood at $1,802.

Vacancy rates, meanwhile, basically stayed flat – dropping just 0.1% to 5.5% overall. 

“The market has been stable over the past nine months, with fairly flat rental rates and a steady rate of vacancy,” said Mark Williams, executive vice president for the association, in a release. “When the vast majority of costs are increasing all around us, to have rental housing be so stable is good news for renters and housing providers.”

The association estimates there are 409,310 apartments in the metro Denver area, with 777,000 residents. Builders added 4,430 more in the second quarter alone.

“Reaching 400,000 last quarter was a big number to hit and shows how our city has grown – but demand for rental housing will continue to be strong for years to come,” Williams said.

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There are 120,000 more units in the pipeline in coming years, according to the association. 

“More new units help drive the vacancy rate up, which helps take pressure off rental rates,” said Cary Bruteig, with Apartment Insights, in a news release. “If vacancy rates continue to increase, and given the large construction pipeline they probably will, then rents are likely to either remain flat or decrease. While we have been expecting this to occur over the past few quarters, the rental market has thus far outperformed our expectations.”

The lowest vacancy rate was logged in Boulder/Broomfield counties, at 4.8%. The highest came in Douglas County, 6.8%.

The association’s report includes surveys to 233,000 apartments.

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