Newer Multifamily Buildings Faring Better

DENVER-Historically, the newest and largest multifamily rental buildings have the highest vacancies. But that was not the case in the latest Apartment Vacancy Rent survey authored by Gordon Von Stroh, a professor at the Daniels College of Business at the University of Denver.

Von Stroh’s report found that multifamily buildings with 51 to 99 units had the highest vacancy at 11.1%, little change from the first quarter. Lowest vacancies are in buildings with 200 to 349 units at 9.2%, down from 10.4% in the first quarter. And buildings with 350 or more units had a 10.1% vacancy rate, down a full point from the previous quarter.

“Historically, larger buildings have the highest vacancy rates,” Von Stroh notes. This is a sign that owners are doing whatever they can to retain tenants, notes Mark Williams, executive director of the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.