Got $19,000 to spare? That’s roughly how much you’ll need to rent an apartment in Colorado Springs for a year. 

Apartment rents in the Springs spiked to an average of $1,570.65 a month in the second quarter — the 10th record high over the last 14 quarters going back to the start of 2019, according to a report by Ron Throupe, an associate business professor at the University of Denver’s Daniels College of Business.

The second-quarter average rent rose $72.81, or 4.9%, from the first quarter, and jumped $141.27, or nearly 10%, from the same period last year.

While rents change from quarter to quarter, the latest monthly average shown in Throupe’s report would be the equivalent of paying $18,847.80 in rent over the course of 12 months.

Apartment rents continue to be driven to record levels by a variety of factors, industry experts say.

Inflationary pressures have pushed rents higher in Colorado Springs, just as they have in other areas of the country, Throupe said in comments accompanying his report.

Colorado Springs area sees one of the biggest waves of apartment building in at least 20 years

Costs to build apartments are more expensive because of rising prices for construction materials and labor, combined with supply chain issues, said Laura Nelson, executive director of the Apartment Association of Southern Colorado.

That’s also true for owners of existing apartment buildings and complexes who are remodeling, she said.

“If anybody’s doing any upgrades, there is continued increases in costs, along with all the other things (expenses) that every other business is seeing,” Nelson said. “Labor costs are very expensive. You can’t get maintenance guys anymore for under $20, $22 an hour. So it’s rough for everybody.”

New suburban-style apartments and those built in downtown Colorado Springs also typically have clubhouses, fitness centers, swimming pools, barbecue pits, dog runs and other amenities that command higher rents.

Those pricier units help push up overall average rents, Nelson said. Owners of older apartments, meanwhile, often take their cue from newer properties and hike rents accordingly, Throupe said.

Spiraling rents also are the product of a strong demand for apartment living. Younger people and empty nesters — among others — enjoy the amenity-filled and maintenance-free lifestyle that apartment living affords, some industry experts have said.

At the same time, Springs-area single-family home prices continue to climb, though the pace at which they’ve risen slowed in July, a recent Pikes Peak Association of Realtors report showed. Still, median home prices stood at $482,500 last month after reaching a record $495,000 in June.

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Rising mortgage rates over the last few months, coupled with the higher home prices, have forced some buyers to delay their dream of home ownership and they continue to rent as a result, Nelson said.

Thirty-year, fixed-rate loans last week averaged 5.13% nationally, according to mortgage buyer Freddie Mac. That was down from a week earlier, but up from 2.86% a year ago.

“That few percentage points has really knocked a handful of people out of the market,” Nelson said. “Where they could barely afford a home to begin with, then you increase interest rates. Now they can’t make it work.”

Also, as the city’s population grows, some newcomers are renting until they can afford a home, she said.

The result: There’s a strong demand for apartments, yet the supply has remained tight. Throupe’s report shows the Springs-area apartment vacancy rate fell to 4.25% in the second quarter, down from 5% in the first quarter and down from 4.4% during the second quarter of last year.

Though there are dozens of apartment projects and several hundred units under construction citywide, only 62 units actually opened and were available to rent in the second quarter, Throupe’s report showed.

Likewise, new units that became available were absorbed quickly, Nelson said.

Colorado Springs area sees one of the biggest waves of apartment building in at least 20 years

Throupe said he expects rents to continue to rise in the third quarter, which historically is a strong period for rent increases. His report shows rents rose to record highs in the third quarter during 2019, 2020 and 2021.

Nelson, however, said the rate at which rents have risen could slow in the second half of the year. More units being completed, and competition among apartment owners to woo apartment dwellers could lead to a stabilization — though not a reduction — of rents, she said.

“I do think there are some that are going to be delivered this fall, some new units,” Nelson said. “They (owners and landlords) may be pretty aggressive in getting those filled. … I don’t think they’re (rents) going to drop. But I think they might start to level off if those larger projects get online this fall.”