Believe it or not, rents have dipped for a second time according to our quarterly Rental Statistics Report. Partnering with RentRange to form the report, we found that during the fourth quarter of 2016 the average monthly rent for single-family homes in the Denver area was $1,963, representing a 2.01% year-over-year increase, but a second consecutive decline from $2,028 in Q3 and from $2,096 in Q2. Across the state, average rent also subsided slightly from $1,751 down to $1,619. Year-over-year rent on a statewide basis increased 2.21% . And nationally, home rental rates subsided as well to $1,358 from $1,459 in Q3, but up 2.59% year-over-year. This rental market data is limited to three-bedroom single-family homes.
The Numbers Don’t Lie
“The data confirms what we’ve been watching over the last six months . . . rental rates are cooling and landlords are offering concessions to get their homes rented,” said Jeff Bacheller, one of our Co-Owners. “The increase in multi-family inventory is finally impacting the overall market. Once one building owner lowers rates and offers concessions, the owner across the street is forced to follow.”
In addition to finding that rents have dipped, the report also examined vacancy rates, the percentage of homes considered unoccupied, through the end of the fourth quarter. The vacancy rate in the Denver Metro area was 2.76%, which is down slightly from 2.79% last year. Vacancy rates statewide dipped to 1.53%, down from 1.61% a year ago. National vacancy rates also dipped slightly to 4.81%, down from 5.01% in Q4 of last year.
Lastly, the report analyzed saturation rates, the estimated percentage of rented single-family homes as a share of all single-family homes. In the Denver Metro area, 16.03% of all single-family homes are rented, according to the data. That compares to 19.66% across the state and 23.59% nationally.
