Conference Chair Ron
Goetz welcomes over
300 people to the
2015 Conference.
seeking
BALANCE
Total Denver metro apartments break
300,000 barrier as construction chases
growing demand
by Luke Miller, Manager of Government Affairs
Photos courtesy of Victor Sanchez, imADgine Studios
D
emand for rental housing is at an all-time high. The Denvermetro area now has 305,708 apartment units after adding 7,588
units in 2014. Even with over 300,000 units, the demand for
rental housing continues to outpace the supply.
Industry insight from the Apartment Association of Metro Denver’s
January Economic Conference points to the Denver Metro Area continuing
to move forward, not back. Due to a variety of economic indicators, Denver’s
multifamily industry is on pace to continue its upward trend. Mayor Michael
Hancock, the events keynote speaker, expressed his appreciation to the industry for providing housing to the growing populous.
Fully embracing the event’s theme of ‘Seeking Balance’, Mayor Hancock
also declared that the greatest issue facing the city is the need for affordable
housing. Citing the high homeless population as a catalyst, Hancock laid out
his plan to address this issue. Mayor Hancock described his ‘Three by Five
Initiative’ that he believes is the key; three thousand workforce units in the
next five years. With 23 projects in the pipeline for this initiative already,
Hancock expects to meet his goal and address this issue.
Others cite different reasons for the lack of affordable housing. “When
the development surge began in 2013, it was speculated that 25-30,000 new
apartments would be built in three years, but only 13,000 have been delivered
so far,” stated Mark Williams, Executive Vice President of the Apartment
Association. “Much of this is due to the difficulty in keeping the approval and
16 | TRENDS • FEBRUARY 2015
construction schedules on time, and the availability of skilled labor.” A shortage of labor, especially framers has substantially slowed some projects. Supply
is critical to meet the growing demand and stabilize rents.
The quarterly Vacancy and Rent Report, released by the Apartment Association of Metro Denver and the University of Denver, was the discussion
piece for a joint presentation by the study’s author, Dr. Ron Throupe and Jeff
Hawks of Apartment Realty Advisors.
Throupe announced the fourth quarter vacancy rate for 2014 was 4.7
percent, down from 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2013, but up from 3.9
percent in the previous quarter