The
average rent in the Colorado Springs metro area rose year over year for the
ninth quarter in a row during the first quarter of 2012, climbing 2.4 percent
to $754. According to a new report on apartment rents and vacancies, released
today by the Colorado Division of Housing and the Apartment Association of
Southern Colorado, the average rent for the region was up from $737 reported
during the first quarter of 2011, and was down from 2011’s fourth-quarter
average rent of $775.
The
median rent also rose year over year to $728 during the first quarter, rising
1.9 percent from 2011’s first-quarter median rent of $714.
The
average rent increased year over year in all sub-markets measured during the
first quarter except in the Central region and the Northwest region where rents
declined 1.8 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.
The
average rent increased the most in the Security/Widefield/Fountain region where the average rent rose 8.2 percent
year over year to $615.
“The
rent growth for the first quarter was not robust in many areas, but it did
continue an established trend in rent growth which has been in place since
early 2010,” said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the Colorado Division of Housing.
“Employment growth has been pretty sedate in the region, and that can put some
downward pressure on rents.”
Average
rents for all market areas were: Northwest, $785; Northeast, $745; Far
Northeast, $846, Southeast, $644; Security/Widefield/Fountain, $615; Southwest,
$796; Central, $706.
The
apartment vacancy rate in the Colorado Springs metro area rose year over year
to 6.4 percent during the first quarter of 2012, rising from 2011’s
first-quarter vacancy rate of 5.8 percent, which was a ten-year low. The first-quarter
rate fell from last year’s fourth-quarter rate of 6.7 percent.
For the first quarter, the
vacancy rate declined year over year in the Northeast and Central regions, and
in the Security/Widefield/Fountain area where the vacancy rate plummeted from
16.2 percent to 5.3 percent, year over year.
“It’s
significant that the vacancy rate really fell off in the Security-Widefield
area and in the central region,” said Ryan McMaken, a spokesman for the
Colorado Division of Housing. “Those areas also have some of the lowest average
rents right now, so as rents increase metro-wide, we’re seeing a movement of
tenants into the lower-rent areas.”
