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As of late last year, rent prices finally seemed to be leveling off in Denver and its nearby communities following a long stretch during which rental costs consistently zoomed upward in the Mile High City's hyper-competitive housing market. But the news thus far in 2018 has reversed this trend, with the latest eye-popping data confirming that metro Denver rent increases are back with a vengeance.
The digits come from Zumper's May 2018 Denver rent report, which analyzes rent in Denver and eleven other suburbs or towns in the area. When it comes to the median price for a two-bedroom apartment, all but one experienced price bumps on both a month-to-month and year-to-year basis.
The sole exception showed no increase from last month and a dip from this time in 2017 of less than 1 percent. During the last twelve months, the rest have gone up from a low of 3.8 percent to a high of (gulp) 15.7 percent.
The boost in Denver is the second largest on an annual basis and the highest overall — and while rent prices vary from neighborhood to neighborhood, as we pointed out in a recent post, "Average Rent Prices for Every Denver Neighborhood Right Now," bargains appear to be few and far between.
Count down the twelve cities analyzed by Zumper below, ranked by median price for a two-bedroom apartment:
Number 12: Northglenn
Median two-bedroom price: $1,350
Month-to-month change: 0.00 percent
Year-to-year change: -0.70 percent
Number 11: Arvada
Median two-bedroom price: $1,380
Month-to-month change: +5.30 percent
Year-to-year change: +3.80 percent
Number 10: Aurora
Median two-bedroom price: $1,460
Month-to-month change: +3.50 percent
Year-to-year change: +7.40 percent

Number 9: Thornton
Median two-bedroom price: $1,470
Month-to-month change: +1.40 percent
Year-to-year change: +15.70 percent
Number 8: Lakewood
Median two-bedroom price: $1,490
Month-to-month change: +4.20 percent
Year-to-year change: +8.80 percent
Number 7: Westminster
Median two-bedroom price: $1,550
Month-to-month change: +4.70 percent
Year-to-year change: +8.40 percent

Number 6: Castle Rock
Median two-bedroom price: $1,560
Month-to-month change: +4.70 percent
Year-to-year change: +13.90 percent
Number 5: Parker
Median two-bedroom price: $1,620
Month-to-month change: +3.20 percent
Year-to-year change: +3.80 percent
Number 4: Littleton
Median two-bedroom price: $1,700
Month-to-month change: +3.70 percent
Year-to-year change: +9.00 percent

Number 3: Broomfield
Median two-bedroom price: $1,780
Month-to-month change: +3.50 percent
Year-to-year change: +5.30 percent
Number 2: Centennial
Median two-bedroom price: $1,910
Month-to-month change: +4.90 percent
Year-to-year change: +11.00 percent
Number 1: Denver
Median two-bedroom price: $1,960
Month-to-month change: +2.60 percent
Year-to-year change: +15.30 percent
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