It’s a good time to be a renter in Denver.
Throughout the city and its suburbs, rents are falling and newly constructed buildings are dangling an array of incentives for signing new leases: offers of six, eight, or even 10 weeks free are now common, brokers say, as are other perks like discounted parking and gift cards.
The relief comes after a construction boom added tens of thousands of new units to the metro area last year alone, largely in its urban core. Builders rushed to Denver to meet demand from a population boom before and during the pandemic and are now completing them as growth has slowed.
“Everybody that wanted to move here because of remote work has moved here,” said Brian Sanchez, chief executive officer of Denver Apartment Finders, a locator service. “The demand is not keeping up with the supply.”
Between 2010 and 2020, the Denver region grew by more than 16% to nearly 3 million people. Since 2020, its growth has slowed to about 1% annually.
Rents for apartments of up to two bedrooms in the Denver metro area dropped 5.9% last year, according to Realtor.com. That’s a faster decrease than several other onetime hotspots for pandemic-era migration and construction, like Austin and Nashville. There, rents fell 5% and 4.4%, respectively in 2024.
‘Trying to keep people in buildings’
As rental competition heats up, even Denver’s renewing renters are often able to lock in incentives like a month of free rent, once a rarity.
Broker Colin Stok said he recently showed a friend new apartment options, including one offering 10 weeks of free rent and free parking. When the friend’s current rental company found out he was looking, it agreed to match the incentives in exchange for a lease renewal.
“They’re trying to keep people in buildings,” said Stok, the Denver team lead at real estate company Cross Street. “If I was a renter right now, I would be out there.”
Despite the incentives, the Denver area still isn’t a cheap place to live. The median apartment rents for around $1,800 a month. But Sanchez, of Denver Apartment Finders, is encouraged by what he’s seeing — between the falling rents and incentives, he’s been able to help middle-income workers like teachers land units in new, amenity-filled buildings.
DiAnthony Sweet, 40, had plenty of apartments to choose from when he accepted an aerospace job in the city and began planning his relocation from the Tampa, Fla., area. Researching the area remotely before beginning his hunt, he ended up creating a spreadsheet of more than 20 possible options.
“Seeing all the new construction and all of the new apartments, it was just so overwhelming,” Sweet said.
After arriving in Denver to search, he fell in love with the first apartment he saw, a one-bedroom in a new building in the trendy River North Arts District. He received 10 weeks of free rent on a 15-month lease, and as an added bonus, his building will allow him to upgrade to a larger unit when his wife and daughter join him at the end of the school year.
“I had planned on seeing more, but the first one checked all the boxes,” Sweet said. He’s looking forward to having a short commute to his office and exploring the area’s lively music, restaurant, and arts scene.
A different story for buyers
While renters have been scoring deals, prospective buyers in Denver haven’t enjoyed the same luck. Although inventory levels have improved, prices — especially for single-family homes — remain near all-time highs.
As of September, the median home in the region sold for nearly $500,000.
High mortgage rates, insurance costs, and election-related anxiety helped keep sales sluggish across the metro area in 2024, said Realtor Stacie Duffy, who works in the southern suburb of Greenwood Village. She thinks there’s some pent-up demand that may help the market pick up this spring, but said many first-time homebuyers are still stretched by the prices.
“The affordability is a big problem,” Duffy said. “Some places are easily 20% to 30% more to purchase than it would be to rent an equitable property. That’s a hard pill for people to swallow.”
