Colorado Multifamily Market: Denver Metro, Colorado Springs and Northern Colorado

The short answer: Colorado's apartment market spent 2024 and 2025 absorbing a wave of new supply, which pushed vacancy up and rents down. Colorado Springs is now turning first, Denver is still working through its supply, and the slowdown in new construction points to a tighter market in 2027 and 2028. This page is our running view as operators of 120 units on the Front Range, updated as new data comes in.

Colorado Springs

Colorado Springs is ahead of Denver in the recovery. Metro vacancy fell for the second straight quarter in Q2 2026, to about 6.6% from 7.3% in Q1. Net effective rents rose $43 to $1,337, and the share of listings offering a concession dropped from 56.6% to 51.8% in a single quarter. New deliveries fall from more than 6,000 units in 2024 to roughly 1,350 in 2026, and construction is down 67% from its 2023 peak.

Denver metro

Denver is still digesting new supply. Yardi Matrix reported nearly 17,000 units delivered in 2025, and a Colorado Sun analysis found metro vacancy at its highest level in 16 years. CBRE's Q4 2025 report showed rents down 7.4% year over year with negative net absorption. By mid 2026, Denver metro rents were down 5.5% year over year, with the largest concessions in that survey's 21-year history. Class C pricing fell 7% year over year to about $167,000 per unit, and transaction volume ran about 40% below the five-year average.

Loveland and Northern Colorado

Loveland has gone a different direction than Denver, an hour away. Vacancy is about 4.5% and rents are rising.

What we're watching for 2027 and 2028

New multifamily starts are down roughly 70% from their 2022 peak, because higher rates, construction costs and permitting costs have shelved many projects. Once today's supply is absorbed, fewer new buildings should mean less competition for residents. Historically that has been a strong setup for rent growth, though nothing about it is guaranteed.

Colorado laws

Several new Colorado rules took effect on January 1, 2026, including changes to how utilities can be billed to residents. Across our portfolio, our property managers now wrap utility fees into rent, which keeps us compliant but puts more weight on headline rents.

How we're operating through it

We price conservatively, keep units tour-ready, and work closely with property management on leasing data. We're patient on acquisitions and focus on older, mispriced or distressed properties where operations can make the difference.

Our properties

• Southgate Commons, 77 units, Colorado Springs

• 168 Lincoln St, 21 units, Loveland

• 2851 Eliot Cir, 6 units, Westminster

• 208 Scott St, 16 units, Council Bluffs, Iowa

For month by month detail, read The ZB3 Operator's Report in the Colorado Multifamily Market category of our blog.

About the author: Zach Bagby is the founder of ZB3 Real Estate. Zach has invested in Colorado apartments since 2018, starting with a Denver 4-plex Zach lived in and growing to a 77-unit community in Colorado Springs. Zach leads deal sourcing, underwriting and capital raising, and lives in Castle Rock.

Past performance does not guarantee future results. Nothing on this site is an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security. Any offering is made only through formal offering documents to eligible investors.