The local market likely will absorb a net 5,000 to 6,000 units this year, he notes. But the 14,112 apartment units under construction in 42 projects will enable the market to achieve a greater equilibrium between supply and demand.

Concerns of overbuilding in Douglas and Arapahoe counties along the southeast corridor have begun to surface, he warns. Slow growth and anti-growth movements will continue to hamper multifamily and single-family developments, keeping up prices, he predicts. There also will be a greater emphasis to bring affordable housing to the market, as well as the first new class-B properties in recent memory. Class-A properties have dominated construction for more than a decade.

"The investment market is poised for another banner year," Kendall says. "Since the multifamily sector is emerging as the product type of choice among real estate investors nationally, sales volume in Denver should easily eclipse 2000's level."