DENVER (KDVR) — Renters won’t be able to buy much with the savings, but Denver rent is ticking down after a record period of wallet-squeezing hikes.
Colorado has grown in the last several years to one of the nation’s most expensive rental and homeownership markets. There are few are outside of coastal metroplexes where housing is less affordable to low and middle income earners, and few states outside of the coasts where more renters pay more than they can afford in rent.
The most recent figures offer a breather for embattled renters. Prices have not dropped in any significant way, but they have at least stopped skyrocketing for the time being.
Zillow’s monthly rental update recorded $2,028 as Denver’s average rental on Oct. 31 – down $2,036 the month before. Denver rent had peaked at $2,039 per month at the end of July.
Rent both nationally and around Denver started spiking in the spring of 2021. At the end of Feb. 2021, rent was $1,668. It took six months to shoot up $200 before stalling in the summer. Nationally, rent followed the same pattern.
The average rent in both the U.S. and Denver grew roughly $700 since 2015.
Most metro areas have seen the same trend, including the recent stop in price increases.
Since July, only a few cities have increased their average rental prices substantially, including Boston and San Diego. The monthly price increases since then have been under $20 for most of the 20 largest metro areas.
Denver joins Baltimore, Tampa, Mineapolis, Seattle, Riverside, San Francisco, Phoenix, Dallas and New York in cities where rents have gone down, though at the most they have gone down $20.