As seen on CoStar
Denver apartment rents notched another month of positive gains as the market works through the remaining supply wave.
Asking rents increased 0.2% in May, according to CoStar data, marking the third month in a row of positive rent growth. Rent growth this year has also outpaced the gains during the same period in 2025.
However, rent growth this year has been uneven, underscoring the bumpy nature of the market’s recovery following the historic influx of supply over the past few years. After a modest dip in February, rent growth surged above the long-term average in March, increasing 0.8% during that month. Rent growth has since decelerated throughout the busy spring leasing season.
Overall, rents are up 1.8% from the start of the year, climbing to an average of $1,813 per month. This outpaces the 1.4% increase during the same period in 2025 but falls short of the 2015-2024 average of 2.9% during the first five months of the year.
While the multifamily market has notched recent gains, annual rent growth remains firmly negative, with Denver asking rents declining 2.7% year over year.
Rent growth has been under pressure for the past two years, largely due to a glut of new units. A record 18,000 apartments were completed in 2024, followed by another 12,600 units in 2025. However, construction has slowed in the market. Roughly 7,900 units are expected to come on line in 2026, the lowest level since 2020.
Rents typically accelerate in the first half of the year, followed by steady declines in the second half. While the early gains are encouraging for area landlords, whether they signal a meaningful rent recovery in 2026 remains to be seen.
Vacancies are projected to remain elevated through 2026 as the market works through excess new supply and remaining projects in the pipeline. Rent growth will likely end the year slightly negative, with rents declining 0.2%, CoStar projects. However, this marks an improvement from 2025, when rents fell 3.4%.
