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Affordable-rentals vacancy rate falls to 5.9 percent in Q4

By John Rebchook, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 27, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

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The vacancy rate for affordable rental housing in Colorado fell to 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter of last year, down from 6.4 percent in the third quarter, as demand increased for subsidized housing, according to a report released by the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority and Colorado Division of Housing.

The increased demand resulted in higher rents for Coloradans in affordable rental housing. The statewide median rent during the fourth quarter was $682, a 3.5 percent increase over the third quarter.

CHFA Chief Operating Officer Cris White noted that the increased housing costs were coming at a particularly difficult time for renters who are already juggling to balance rising rents with increases in the cost of energy, food and medical care.

"When rents increase, it creates a huge ripple effect in a family's budget, leaving less money available for other needs such as food, gas and medical expenses," White said.

The Boulder/Broomfield market area showed the least vacancy with only 2.1 percent of its rental housing available to affordable households. The median rent in the Boulder/Broomfield market increased by $208, up from $582 in the third quarter to $790 in the fourth quarter.

Loveland experienced the most significant increase in the availability of affordable rental housing between the third and fourth quarters, rising from a 5.6 percent vacancy rate to a 10.6 percent vacancy rate.

Gordon Von Stroh, the author of the report and a University of Denver professor, attributed the change to the completion of a construction project that resulted in those workers who had occupied the affordable units leaving town.