News

  • Our Manchester Apartments are mentioned on Denverite.com!

    A view of the Denver Botanic Gardens is worth… $100

    I love the Denver Botanic Gardens and every time I walk through, I look up to the towering buildings on its Northern side and feel jealous. Do those people even know what a optical treasure they have out their windows?

    Probably. Units facing the garden are very frequently requested, but rarely available says Manchester Apartments property manager Diana Burns.

    If you’re lucky enough to stumble into an opening facing the garden, it typically only costs $100 more a month, Burns says.

    Down the street at the Amaranth, the difference is about the same: $75 to $150 dollars more for a view of the gardens, says Keri Felton, marketing manager at Cardinal Group Management.

    That extra money gets you a view of the mountains, lily pads, Christmas lights and more. It definitely brings a wow factor.

    See full article here.

  • Three Reasons to Rent in Denver

    By now you’ve heard that rental prices in Denver are rising as fast as the population is. As more people flock to the Mile High City, demand for housing has increased, as has production of new units throughout the city. So while rental prices are still relatively high, they are leveling off and getting better with more apartments for rent in Denver, CO becoming available to more people. For those of you who haven’t been to Denver or who don’t know the secret, Denver is an excellent place to live and to rent apartments in for many reasons. Here are three reasons why apartments in downtown Denver and throughout the rest of the city are being snapped up as quickly as they’re being built:

    1. Great neighborhoods. Despite some naysayers criticizing that areas of the city are having growing pains, some neighborhoods such as Capitol Hill have become one of the most fun hotspots in the city. With a thriving nightlife scene in an area near LoDo, it is still an attraction all to itself. Everything from craft beer brewed at one of the many breweries in the area to fancy clubbing drinks can be had all night long. With many apartments in downtown Denver still available, this area is a great place to look for apartments for rent in Denver, CO.
    2. Bike anywhere. Believe it or not, you don’t have to be a fitness nut to fit into the communities that have apartments for rent in Denver, CO. Denver is an extremely flat city, with many friendly bike lanes that you can use to cycle to work or to the coffee shop down the street. Even if you don’t have a bike, you can rent one cheaply at one of the many Denver B Cycle stations throughout the city. These bikes are available for an annual pass, a 30-day card, a weeklong card, or a daylong pass.
    3. Craft beer is king. As I alluded to above, there are many breweries churning out some of the best beer in the world all over Denver. Denver is of course near the first Coors factory, but since Coors was founded many years ago, craft breweries have gotten in on the fun. The great thing about almost all apartments for rent in Denver, CO is that no matter where in the city you live, chances are there’s a craft brewery nearby offering their own tasty beverages, many made from scratch and secret family recipes. Even the governor of Colorado, John Hickenlooper, is a former brewery owner in Denver.

    These are only the top three reasons why you should be looking for apartments for rent in Denver, CO. There is a world of possibilities in Denver that can’t be found anywhere else. The hundreds of thousands of people who have moved to Denver in recent years have created a lively, friendly atmosphere that welcomes everyone from anywhere in the world to make their new home in Denver. Come see what all the fuss is about.

  • What Rising Property Values Means for Renters in Denver

    The last housing price peak in metro Denver was in 2006. Following the housing crisis of 2008 and the huge increases in population the metro Denver area has seen in recent years, housing values have increased dramatically. They are now almost 50% higher than they were in 2006, according to a study by HSH.com. It has been a long time coming for homeowners in Denver who saw their home prices drop during the mortgage crisis of 2008. The value of their homes has recovered and then some in the area in recent years. But what does this mean for renters looking for apartments in Denver, CO? For one, it means that if you’re trying to save up for a down payment for a house, renting a little longer may be worth it with rental rates for many apartments for rent in Denver, CO leveling off.

    Since 1991, when the Federal Housing Authority started keeping these records, Denver’s housing appreciation has quadrupled. No city in the country, not even the notorious San Francisco market, has seen as much value appreciation as Denver has since 1991. If you’re a property owner in Denver right now and you’re trying to sell, the time hasn’t been better in recent decades. However, if you’re trying to buy a house in the Denver area, you’re paying much more than you would only six years ago. Especially if you’re trying to buy your first home, purchasing a Denver property will likely cause you to put down a higher down payment or cause you to pay higher monthly rates on a mortgage. With many new apartments in downtown Denver being built, finding one is the easiest it’s been in recent years. Living in one of the many new apartments for rent in Denver, CO may be the safer way to go for now.

    In May, the median price of a house in metro Denver was $400,000. A decade ago, the deluge of mortgages and rising home prices created a high demand for homes in the area. In 2006, there were over 30,000 listings of available homes in Denver. Everyone was looking for a new place to live here. Today, the demand has lessened. There were only over 5,000 home listings in Denver. As new developments go in to accommodate more people moving to Denver, the rental market has become much looser for those looking for rental properties, especially for downtown Denver apartments. More residents looking for apartments for rent in Denver, CO have taken advantage of the many opportunities for work in the Denver metro area.

    With the many changes in the housing market overall in the city over the last several years, Denver still remains a popular place to live. Housing numbers and value appreciation in the city will continue to normalize as long as the job market remains advantageous for newcomers to the city. And as long as demand for living space remains high, as it is expected to, rates for apartments for rent in Denver, CO won’t get much higher than they are now.

  • Colorado is Not Alone in High Wage and Housing Price Disparity

    Colorado has the 14th-highest wage required to afford what the National Low Income Housing Coalition calls a “modest, two-bedroom apartment,” in its latest report, titled “Out of Reach.” According to the report, to afford a two-bedroom apartment in the state of Colorado, you have to earn at least $21.12 per hour. In Denver, you have to earn $23.60 per hour, according to the report.

    The National Low Income Housing Coalition came to this conclusion by calculating what a “fair market rent” is for the state for a non-extravagant, two-bedroom apartment is in each state and what an individual would have to earn per hour working 52 weeks a year and 40 hours a week to be able to pay for such an apartment without paying more than 30% of their wages each month for housing and utilities. The “fair market rent” for a two-bedroom apartment in Colorado is $1098 a month, according to the study.

    Of course, if you live in Denver, the rental prices are higher than if you live in the outlying areas, but the good news for moving to Denver is twofold: one, the living wage to afford an apartment in Colorado is actually only 14th in the nation, including Puerto Rico. In Hawaii, for example, you’d have to make over $30 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. The price for a modest apartment in Denver is higher than the state average, but due to the recent boom in construction of new properties and further development of new units, rents have actually begun to level off in the city. The second piece of good news for newcomers to Denver is the job market is still strong here. Even after a huge population boom during 2014 and 2015, there are still many jobs in the information technology, healthcare, and construction sectors. So even if you have to pay more than the state average for housing costs to live in Denver, there are more opportunities and rents are actually going down.

    Mayor Michael Hancock has started an effort to create a fund for affordable housing over the next decade. Hancock has started to raise property taxes and development fees to help close the gap between housing wages and rental rates in the city as well to lessen the burden not only on low wage earners but also for moderate wage earners in the city. Nationally, the housing wage is $20.30 an hour, still higher than many workers in the country make. This points out what the Hancock administration in Denver already knows: that both wages and government assistance have to increase in value in the coming years to keep up with rental costs and an aging population.

    So while we all know by now that the Denver housing market is one of the hottest in the country, there is help on the way for all wage earners and greater opportunities here for workers to improve their wages. With more development and assistance from City Hall, Denver’s expensive housing market is improving for newcomers, and Colorado is not the only state in which housing wages are high.

  • How are Short-Term Rentals Affecting the Denver Rental Market?

    There has been increasing talk about short-term rental companies like Airbnb and VRBO in Denver because of rising rental prices and many units being used as short-term rentals. Depending on who you talk to, short-term rentals are either the best thing for Denver or the absolute worst. Proponents say that allowing short-term rentals in the city allow people to make money from properties they already own or are currently paying for. Opponents say that it allows people to trample on residential neighborhoods while contributing nothing to the local economy.

    Denver residents have complained about short-term rentals raise rental prices because it keeps useable units off the market and tightens demand. Airbnb claims that it helps middle-class families make their mortgages by allowing them to rent out their homes when they aren’t using them and make some extra money. Technically, short-term rentals are illegal in Denver, but according to Colorado Public Radio there are almost 1700 Airbnb units here. The city is working with Airbnb to clear up regulations and come up with a compromise. The proposed rules will require short-term renters to possess a business license and live on the property they rent.

    Some housing experts don’t think that there are enough units going off the market due to short-term rentals to make a dent in the rental market in Denver. If they continue to be mostly unregulated by the city, however, will they eventually swallow up all the affordable housing in some of the most popular neighborhoods? Airbnb is only one of the short-term rental companies flocking to Denver to allow residents to rent their properties. VRBO and Flipkey provide similar services but aren’t as open about their data as Airbnb. Since the data is incomplete in reporting just how many properties are off the market for renters because of short-term rentals, many people remain concerned.

    The Denver rental market is loosening for prospective renters because of increased development and new units hitting the market all the time. But, as more people continue to move to Denver, there remains the risk of short-term rentals pushing people out of affordable housing options. The Denver City Council is working on legislation that could put limits on short-term rentals, but their effects on the rental market remains to be seen. With new units going up all the time and new legislation coming, short-term rentals will likely have an unpredictable effect on rental prices.

  • How the Evolving Real Estate Market in Denver will Help Your Apartment Search

    If you’re new to Denver, you may have heard the horror stories surrounding the search for affordable rental properties in the metro Denver area in recent months and years. With a population surge in Denver in 2014 and 2015, the real estate market, specifically the rental market, has made it extremely difficult to find affordable places to live in the city, especially in Capitol Hill, the downtown area, and other highly popular neighborhoods. There was a huge demand for rental properties in 2014 and 2015, and that demand has continued to remain high in 2016 so far. The difference between 2016 and previous years in the Denver rental property market is that supply is finally catching up with demand.

    In a quarterly report published at the end of the fourth quarter for 2015, the Apartment Association of Metro Denver found that apartment rents have leveled off and the influx of many new rental properties on the market has actually caused the apartment vacancy rate in metro Denver explode to 6.8 percent, up 5 percent from the end of the third quarter in 2015. It was the largest quarterly surge in apartment vacancy rates in Denver since the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009 forced many people to move out of their apartments.

    With vacancy rates surging even beyond expected seasonal fluctuations, the search for an affordable apartment in Denver has become easier as landlords and property management companies scramble to fill their units. With construction projects going up all over the city to provide more housing for the thousands of people moving to our beautiful city, supply has finally caught up with demand, and you can benefit from the changing rental market. Rents are going down because of new options for renters, so the chances of finding an affordable apartment for rent in Denver are rising for newcomers or those trying to make a change.
    Renters then have a variety of options for apartments and rental houses throughout Denver. With rent rates flattening all over the city, they can find older apartment units for less than they would have paid even three months ago. There is also a variety of new apartment units going up across the Denver metro area that need residents badly. Landlords hate to see their brand new units sit empty for very long.

    There are several areas of Denver and the surrounding area that are particularly attractive to prospective renters looking for affordable options due to their high vacancy rates. Northwest Denver, according to the report published by the Apartment Association of Denver, has the highest vacancy rate—an astonishing 17.4 percent. Boulder County, excluding Longmont and Boulder proper has a 14 percent vacancy rate, downtown Denver—11.2 percent, and north Douglas County—9.6 percent. Rents in these areas will see decreases if supply can keep up with demand.

    The bottom line is that renters trying to live in Denver will have a much easier time of it in 2016 than they did in 2015. As moving season approaches, the Denver rentals market will see declining rental rates and it should be able to handle another surge in population in the coming months due to the many new construction projects throughout the city.

  • Property Management Companies Seeing Stabilization in Denver’s Rental Market

    Property management companies in the Denver metro area are beginning to see stabilization in the rental market after a year of rapid growth in which over 100,000 new residents moved to the state overall. For renters, this is good news; for property management companies, it was expected that the unprecedented growth of the rental property market in Denver would eventually even itself out.

    According to Cary Bruteig of the private firm Apartment Insights LLC in Denver, property management companies will begin to offer renters some concessions on new leases. New renters will have more choices in hot neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and their rental dollars will go slightly farther. Compared to last year, the occupancy rates in metro Denver have decreased slightly. According to Bruteig’s data, the vacancy rate in the first quarter for the metro area was 8.9 percent, including properties in the lease-up phase. This figure is one percent higher than the vacancy rate for the metro area a year ago.

    Property management companies in Denver have likely been anticipating this stabilization for some time. From May 2014 until May 2015, only Oakland, California and Portland, Oregon saw faster rent property growth than Denver. In order to keep up with demand for multifamily housing, more of these units are being constructed in the metro area than ever. Analysts say that the construction boom has begun to take an effect on the rental market as we settle into 2016. By the end of the year, Bruteig estimates that about 11,000 new units will enter the market due to this construction boom. Last year, 9,200 units appeared during the massive influx of new residents to the Denver area. If rental rates stay the same, Bruteig expects about 3,000 units to be available out of the approximately 300,000 units in the city.

    With construction finally catching up to demand for new housing in the Denver metro area, it appears the rental rates will begin to decrease. The change will be gradual. People are still moving to Denver in droves, and many want to live in the inner city, near downtown, keeping rental rates in the heart of the city relatively high. Property management companies will likely have to lower some of their rents for some of their units over the next year or more and offer lease concessions to renters.

    Again, for apartment hunters trying to move to Denver or simply find a new place to live in the city, the construction of new units throughout the city to keep up with demand is beneficial. There will be more choice in the market for types of units in different parts of the city, particularly near downtown. Rental prices will level off and give apartment hunters more options with their rental budgets. The construction sector in Denver responded well to the thousands of newcomers to the state in the past year and is finally starting to turn the tide in keeping up with demand.

    Property management companies shouldn’t despair, however. Because demand will likely remain high in 2016, there will still be plenty of new applicants to live in rental properties throughout the city. Denver is one of the fastest-growing cities for a reason. Young people will continue to move here in search of jobs in the booming technology, healthcare, and energy sectors over the next few years according to most studies, meaning that even with an influx of new units throughout the city, rental companies can still expect a high occupancy rate in their properties.

    Rental prices in Denver by no means stand at the edge of some precipice. With demand remaining strong, the construction of new units will only serve to keep rental prices from climbing into the stratosphere, which could cause more serious problems in the future. With more options throughout the city, rental rates will simply level off, as is natural in a healthy housing economy. The rules will remain the same: the property management companies that improve their rental properties and add new options for renters will continue to thrive even with a slight downturn in rental prices and companies relying solely on the extremely high demand for housing in metro Denver will struggle.

    Share your predictions on how the changing Denver rental market will affect apartment hunters and property management companies in the comment section below.