Denver Rent Prices Down — Barely

After a long stretch of skyrocketing rents, prices fell last month across metro Denver — a common annual occurrence when the weather turns cold and moving becomes even more of a pain. But the decreases are small, particularly in comparison with the hefty, double-digit price hikes over the past year.

The January rent report from Apartment List reveals that rent within Denver city limits slid by 1.1 percent from November to December, the most recent month for which numbers are available; that's a greater decrease than the 0.4 percent slide the previous month. But over the past twelve months, Denver rents have gone up a wallet-straining 16.8 percent — and several metro-area communities saw an even greater rise over that same period.

If it's any consolation, the average rent increase nationally for this period is 17.8 percent. This graphic compares rent in Denver to prices in Colorado as a whole and the U.S. generally.
In December, the median price for a one-bedroom apartment in Denver landed at $1,470, with the two-bedroom median at $1,820. Both numbers are $20 lower than in November.

Denver's two-bedroom cost is still gulp-inducing, but it's actually lower than costs in other metro communities. Last month, two-bedroom tags exceeded Denver's in Littleton ($1,860), Thornton ($1,900), Westminster ($1,930), Parker ($2,080) and Broomfield ($2,220).

In year-over-year percentage gains, the smallest bump took place in Brighton, which rose by 10.3 percent. The increases in such northern suburban locations as Broomfield (13.5 percent), Thornton (14.2 percent) and Arvada (14.9) were also below that of Denver. The same was true in Littleton (16.1 percent) and Aurora (16.7 percent).

The spendiest municipalities? Westminster, with a 17.8 percent annual upswing, followed by Englewood at 17.1 percent. Here's a chart with the latest details:
Expect modest rent relief in January and February, too. After that, however, costs could turn in the opposite direction, as they did in 2021.