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What would you do with an extra $2,175 a month for a year?
“Out of nowhere, this award popped up. It really threw me off balance,” said Lisa Cordova, who in an interview laughed, cried but was still a bit in disbelief that she’d won free rent for a year from her landlord. “It makes you stop and think that we have all these things that we need to be grateful and fortunate for.”
Cordova, who plans to use some rent savings on a “creative project” to impact her community, had moved into the new Akin Golden Triangle apartments along Speer Boulevard last fall at a particularly hospitable time for renters.
An oversupply of new apartments in recent years led to Denver’s highest vacancy rate in 16 years last quarter. In desperate attempts to attract tenants for the past year, apartment buildings in the metro area have been offering multiple months of free rent, gift cards, parking discounts, or in Cordova’s case, a sweepstakes dreamt up by developer Revesco Properties. There were 364 current and prospective tenants vying for a prize (another person won $50,000).
According to the latest data from Zillow, Denver-area rents continued to fall in January, down 1.1% from a year earlier to an average asking rent of $1,838 a month, or about $57 less than the U.S. average. Even so, 39% of the nation’s rentals offered a concession, compared with 68% in Denver — the highest rate in the nation. Zillow’s report is similar to Apartment Association of Metro Denver data showing declining rents further reduced by 9.5% worth of concessions.
But that also means the city is becoming a little more affordable, according to Zillow. Median-income households in Denver spent 19% of their income on rent, the lowest since early 2018 when Zillow began tracking the data point.
While a year of free rent was one of the more extreme concessions in the Denver market, developers felt it made sense in a neighborhood that has had more than its fair share of new apartments. At one point, nine projects to add 2,000 apartment units were in the works in the Golden Triangle area after the Denver City Council had rezoned the area to allow for higher density, the Denver Business Journal reported.
About a block from Cordova’s complex, the 323-unit Modera Golden Triangle opened in 2024, and the 16-story AMLI Residential, with 366 spots, is now preleasing. The 97-unit apartment complex where Cordova lives is still promoting three months of free rent. The building is about 65% occupied, said Rhys Duggan, president and CEO of Revesco Properties.
But not every Denver market is like Golden Triangle, Duggan said. Another Akin project that opened at the same time in the city’s northwestern Tennyson-Berkeley neighborhood has a similar aesthetic of high-style boutique apartments — “We have a pretty solid anti-stucco ethos,” Duggan said — where the amenity is the walkable, urban neighborhood with shops, restaurants and entertainment. The complex with 76 units is 90% occupied.
“It’s really a tale about different markets,” Duggan said. “Obviously, Cherry Creek is a world unto its own. Then you have Tennyson (with) really strong demand. Then you flip down to the Golden Triangle and it’s kind of the opposite. I’d lump Golden Triangle in with maybe Rino where we saw a lot of deliveries all come online within a year of each other. … As a result, you see a lot of concessions and a lot of discounted rents. That’s where akin Golden Triangle sits and it’s been a struggle. Hence, the idea for the sweepstakes.”
Cordova, who moved into the Akin Golden Triangle apartment community last fall, doesn’t feel like she is the most deserving of the prize. But as a single mother who put her daughter through college and changed her career midlife by earning two degrees from Regis University, the recently retired Colorado native worked hard to get where she is.
She now rents in an amenity-rich urban neighborhood near the Denver Art Museum that’s about a six-minute drive to her daughter’s home.
“I think it’s just kind of one of those weird things where if you hang in there long enough and if you do the right things, I don’t know,” Cordova said. “Maybe it was just my turn.”
Related:
➔ Denver’s a Gen Z hot spot for renters, ranks 5th in US. These under-30-year-old tenants find Denver more appealing than many other metro areas, according to an analysis by Rent Cafe of humans born between 1997 and 2012.
The rate of Denver Gen Z renters grew 913% between 2018 and 2023, which ranked fifth nationwide and nearly double the U.S. growth rate. With 75,665 Gen Z-aged renters, the city also ranked 14th by numbers, placing Denver higher than the more populated metros of San Francisco, San Antonio and Miami.
The alleged attraction? Gen Z incomes have tripled, though there’s also been a 22% increase in the cost of living. “Colorado’s most populous city checks many boxes for the digital native lifestyle, including a dynamic social scene; access to nature; active and health-focused living; and a strong job market,” says the report.
Other Colorado metro areas also landed in Rent Cafe’s top 100 fastest growing areas for Gen Z renters, with Colorado Springs at No. 51 and Fort Collins at 88. >> Details
➔ Prices of state’s for-sale homes are flat or falling but more under contract. In the seven-county Denver region, the number of single-family homebuyers under contract in February jumped 18.9% to 3,730 contracts from a year ago, even as actual homes sales remained flat and the median sales price dropped 2.3% in the same period. Denver Realtor Cooper Thayer called it “an early sign of stronger demand building beneath the surface.”
The condo-townhouse market is still in pain, with a 12.2% drop in sold listings, but a 4.4% increase in pending sales. The condo market’s median sale price fell 5% to $380,000, according to data from the Colorado Association of Realtors.
Statewide, there was a 5.5% increase in single-family homes for sale with pending contracts increasing 14.4% from a year ago. The number of houses sold also increased, up 1.8% to 4,436 from a year ago, while the median sales price fell 2.6% to $560,000. Condo sales fell 8.9% and median sales prices fell 0.4% to $408,560. >> View reports for all Colorado counties
Sun economy stories you may have missed
➔ It’s up to Colorado to shield consumers from the price shock of Xcel Energy’s data center-related building boom. Colorado utilities regulators have a tall order: cut pollution, promote electrification and economic development while slowing rise of electric bills. >> Read story
➔ Colorado effort to end credit card swipe fees on sales taxes is splitting businesses. Companies paid $2.1 billion in swipe fees in 2024 for the right to accept credit cards. They’re fighting to get back $200 million charged on sales tax. >> Read story
➔ Colorado is about to refund $300M to taxpayers that it may not have to. Gov. Jared Polis has called on the legislature to recover the money by reducing future TABOR refunds. But state officials are divided over whether they can legally do so. >> Read story
➔ Snow, ice and hurricanes: Prediction markets offer money-making wagers on climate change. The multibillion-dollar industry is raking in criticisms and money as people try to make fast money by betting on real-world events. >> Read story
➔ Nearly 3,800 JBS unionized meatpackers in Greeley plan to strike March 16. They’ve been working on an expired contract for eight months. JBS officials accused the union of not sharing the company’s latest offer with workers. >> Read story
➔ Energy Secretary Chris Wright, during Colorado stop, warns that high gas prices could last weeks. Wright said the U.S. will insure oil tankers traveling through the Strait of Hormuz and will even use the military to escort ships. >> Read story
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Other working bits
➔ Colorado’s gamble on sports betting hits $5 million monthly record. In January, the state collected $5,022,182.11 in sports betting tax revenue, a 13% increase from a year ago. It also set a monthly record, besting the old one set in October for $4.8 million. That money will be used for state water projects to “protect future reserves from droughts exacerbated by climate change,” according to the Department of Revenue.
Ever since this form of gambling became legal in Colorado in May 2020, sports betting has been taxed at a rate of 10% of casinos’ net sports betting proceeds. In fiscal year 2025, which ended June 30, the state also set an annual tax revenue record of $33.5 million, and officials anticipate that fiscal year 2026 will be higher. >> Details
➔ Questions about tariff refunds? World Trade Center Denver is hosting a session March 20 to help small businesses in Colorado navigate through the latest tariff policies and get legal updates on whether earlier Trump administration tariffs, which the Supreme Court ruled against last month, could mean a refund. WTC-Denver, which received funding from the state’s Office of Economic Development and International Trade, is also providing $1,000 worth of consulting support to eligible businesses on a first-come, first-served basis (request help in this form). >> Event details
➔ Flying this spring break? DEN shares what to expect. Spring break season kicked off March 11, according to Denver International Airport. And before it ends March 29, an estimated 1.3 million passengers are predicted to go through the airport’s security checkpoints. More factoids:
➔ Job fair alert: Manufacturing jobs at tobacco company. PMI, short for Philip Morris International, is hosting a job fair in Aurora to start making good on its plan to hire 500 people for its new Aurora manufacturing plant. The company, through affiliate Swedish Match, is manufacturing smokeless Zyn pouches, which don’t contain tobacco leaves but do contain nicotine, an addictive chemical. The March 17 job fair runs 2-8 p.m. at The Benson Hotel & Faculty Club at 13025 E. Montview in Aurora. >> Details
➔ DMV fraud alert. Colorado’s Division of Motor Vehicles is trying to get the word out that scammers are sending out texts impersonating the DMV. If you get a text about your unpaid tickets, suspended vehicle registration or loss of driving privileges, it’s not from the DMV. Don’t click anything, don’t respond and don’t share any personal information. Agency spokesperson Elizabeth Kosar said the only time the DMV may text is “if we need to reschedule appointments.” Unsure about the text? Call the DMV to verify at 303-205-5600 or visit dmv.colorado.gov. The DMV also suggests reporting scammers to reportfraud.ftc.gov or the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.
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Thanks for sticking with me for this week’s report. As always, share your 2 cents on how the economy is keeping you down or helping you up at cosun.co/heyww. ~ tamara
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