Price Cuts in Denver Drop Rental Rates Blow U.S. Norm in January

For the first time in 10 years, price cuts in conventional apartments across Denver dropped rents behind the U.S. average in January. Effective asking rents in Denver typically register above the national average, but recent price cuts dropped the rate to $1,801 in January, according to data from RealPage Market Analytics. The U.S. norm was a bit higher at $1,818, making the first time since March 2014 that monthly rents in Denver ran behind the national average. Over the past decade, prices in Denver have held an average premium of just over 6% over the U.S. norm. The peak of this premium was at about 10%, recorded in August 2015 and again in July 2017. In the past decade, prices climbed at about the same clip in Denver as in the U.S. But in recent months, after peaking in July 2024 at $1,925, prices started coming down notably in the second half of 2024. Denver remains a desirable destination for a young demographic of renters, but in recent years, occupancy has come down in this apartment market and has slightly trailed U.S. norms. Contributing to waning occupancy and price cuts, Denver has been a hotbed of construction activity. The existing unit base in Denver climbed by an average of 7% annually over the course of the past 10 years, well ahead of U.S. average annual growth of 4%.