Denver Apartment Vacancy Hits 16-Year High as Rents Fall to Four-Year Low

A building surge left tens of thousands of units empty, creating record concessions likely to persist for 12 to 18 months.

Overview

Metro Denver’s vacancy reached 7.6% at the end of 2025, with more than 34,000 apartments sitting empty, according to the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.
Average asking rent fell to $1,754 in Q4, the lowest since early 2022, while concessions averaged 9.5% of rent, pushing effective rents to about $1,587.
Renters are commonly seeing 10 to 12 weeks free and gift cards up to $1,000, with some new properties offering as much as three months free to fill units.
Fourth-quarter supply outpaced demand, with 3,087 units delivered and net negative absorption of 3,177, further elevating vacancies across every county tracked.
Roughly 50,000 units remain in the pipeline but about 20,000 have not broken ground as developers pause projects and cite higher costs from policies such as Denver’s inclusionary housing ordinance; analysts expect renter-friendly conditions through the next year.