If you’re a renter looking to become a homeowner, it’s for good reason. The Denver area ranks as the third most competitive large rental market in the West behind Salt Lake City and Tucson, Ariz., blowing past Phoenix and Las Vegas.

A new report by apartment search website Rent Cafe points to the market’s scant availability of rentals, with prospective tenants usually vying against eight others for a place to live – a statistic that’s on par with the U.S. average of nine people per empty rental. Apartments are typically snagged off of the market within 42 days.

Denver’s occupancy rate is close to 94%, even though recent months have seen an almost 0.5% jump in new apartments, according to the report. More than half of Denver tenants, 56%, renewed their leases this season.

Out of the small Western markets, Montana takes the top ranking, followed by Albuquerque, N.M., at No. 2, Boise, Idaho, at No. 3, Wyoming at No. 4 and Colorado Springs at No. 5. Montana and Wyoming are considered single markets.

The news comes as Denver’s average apartment rent is $1,967, with an apartment’s size spanning 839 square feet on average, the website reports.

Coloradans are most worried about the cost of living and inflation, followed closely by housing affordability, according to the fourth annual Colorado Health Foundation Pulse Poll.

However, compared to 2022, Denver’s competitivity as a rental market is now cooling slightly, according to the Rent Cafe report. At the start of last year’s rental season, units typically only remained empty for 37 days, with an apartment occupancy rate of almost 95%.

Is it time for you to get out of the rental game? Colorado’s real estate climate is continuing to balance and correct itself, making now a good time to start looking. Give Metrowest a shout today – we’d love to show you around!