Apartment vacancy rate edges up in quarter, but still down from last year

Local apartments continued to be fairly well occupied in the third quarter, a report shows.

The vacancy rate for Colorado Springs-area apartments stood at 6.6 percent in the third quarter — up slightly from 6.2 percent at midyear, according to Apartment Insights, an online research company that surveys complexes of 50 units or more.

The latest vacancy rate was down sharply from 7.8 percent in the third quarter of 2009 and 9.2 percent in the same quarter of 2008.

Additional troops who have come to Fort Carson, increased demand by homeowners who have lost their houses to foreclosure and tighter borrowing requirements that have thwarted some potential homebuyers have translated into a steady demand for apartments, industry experts have said.

Demand was strongest for rental units in apartment complexes and buildings constructed after 1980, said Doug Carter, an Apartment Insights partner and a broker with the Springs office of national real estate firm Sperry Van Ness.

But the report also shows the vacancy rate for older apartments slipped to 7.6 percent, down from 10 percent in late 2008 — indicating the weak economy is prompting many renters to seek cheaper rental units.

Rents averaged $707 a month in the third quarter, up from $699 in the second quarter and $695 in the third quarter of 2009, according to Apartment Insights.
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