Thomas Mitchell
Audio By Carbonatix
It’s a good time to be a renter in Denver.
The Mile High City had the nation’s largest monthly drop in rent prices in December when compared to other major metropolitan areas, according to Zillow’s latest rental market report released on January 20.
The Denver area’s typical rent hit $1,856 last month, the report found. That’s a 0.8 percent decrease from November, the biggest percentage decline in the country. Year-over-year apartment rents declined by 2.4 percent — the second-highest drop behind Austin, Texas — and multifamily home rents fell by 0.9 percent monthly, the second-highest drop behind Salt Lake City, Utah.
Easing rent prices come as Denver experiences rising apartment vacancy rates.
Over 34,000 apartments were vacant in the Denver metro area at the end of 2025, according to the Apartment Association of Metro Denver’s fourth quarter report on January 21. That’s a vacancy rate of 7.6 percent, the highest in more than sixteen years.
“Large additions to the rental inventory have continued [to push] up vacancy in recent quarters,” the Apartment Association report reads. “Based on the number [of] units being delivered, it is possible that vacancy could increase again in the first quarter of 2026.”
The Denver metro’s average rent during the fourth quarter of 2025 was $1,754, according to the report — down 3.4 percent from the prior quarter, 4.8 percent from the end of 2024 and 6.2 percent from the end of 2023.
The Denver area also set a record for concessions by landlords at the end of 2025, according to the Apartment Association report. Incentives like free rent, waived fees or gift cards averaged $169 or 9.5 percent of gross rent. That’s the metro’s highest concessions by percentage in nearly nineteen years and the highest dollar amount since the report started keeping track 21 years ago.
Zillow similarly reported record-high concessions from landlords.
In December, 67.5 percent of Denver’s rental listings on Zillow offered concessions, the most of any major metro area nationwide, according to the report. Nationwide, only 39.5 percent of rental listings offered concessions.
“The widespread use of concessions reflects persistently high vacancy rates and stiff competition among landlords,” the Zillow report reads. “With incentives so common, renters have more room to negotiate, helping support recent improvements in affordability.”
This tracks with the attitude of Denver renters.
Nearly 58 percent of renters looking for a new home in the Denver metro area were searching with “low urgency” in December, according to an Apartment List report released on January 21. That is the second-highest rate in the nation among large metros, beat only by San Antonio, Texas.
“It seems that renters are responding to soft market conditions by taking their time and evaluating their options,” the Apartment List report reads. “Property owners are competing for renters to fill their units rather than the other way around.”
With homeownership in Denver increasingly out of reach for many, it’s about time renters got a win.
