Should you consider Denver real estate investment? Many real estate investors have asked themselves if buying a property in Denver is a good investment? You need to drill deeper into local trends if you want to know what the market holds for real estate investors and buyers in 2021. Denver is ranked as the country’s 16th-most walkable city, with 600,158 residents. It has some public transportation and is very bikeable. Downtown is the most walkable neighborhood in Denver with a Walk Score of 93.
As per Neigborhoodscout.com, a real estate data provider, one and two-bedroom single-family detached are the most common housing units in Denver. Other types of housing that are prevalent in Denver include large apartment complexes, duplexes, rowhouses, and homes converted to apartments. Single-family homes account for about 40-45% of Denver’s housing units.
Denver ranked 13th for overall real estate investment and development, according to some 3,000 industry professionals surveyed and interviewed by the Urban Land Institute and PwC. Survey respondents viewed Denver’s housing market even more favorably, collectively ranking it ninth overall.
Of greater importance to real estate investors in Denver is that the area is growing in population. The jobs are increasing and so are the number of renters. It is the largest and capital city of Colorado, home to roughly 700,000 people. The Denver metropolitan area is home to around 2.7 million people. The population has increased by 1.33% from 2019. The Denver-Aurora, Colorado statistical area is home to about three and a half million people.
It has a low unemployment rate of 2.3% as of Dec 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. A third of the population of the Denver metro area rents. All these are excellent signs of investors looking to buy a rental property in Denver. Despite the recent cooling off, there are several reasons to consider a long-term investment in the Denver real estate market. Shortage of housing for a growing population, a strong economy & increasing jobs have been fueling the demand in the Denver housing market for the past many years.
Denver is a key trade point for the country, and home to several large corporations in the central United States. It was named 6th on Forbes Magazine’s “Best Places for Business and Careers.” Denver South is home to 7 Fortune 500 companies. It is also home to mining and energy companies such as Halliburton, Smith International, Newmont Mining, and Noble Energy.
Let’s take a look at the number of positive things going on in the Denver real estate market which can help investors who are keen to buy an investment property in this city. We’ll address the biggest factor pulling people to the Denver housing market next.
Denver’s Limited Room to Grow
Many of the fastest-growing markets in the US are along the Front Range, a part of the Southern Rocky Mountains. While there are houses in the hills, it is a lot harder to build on the mountainous landscape than on flat plains. In Denver’s case, the massive national forests and Rocky Mountain Park to the west of Denver and its suburbs prevent the expansion of the Denver housing market in that direction. This keeps home prices higher than they’d be in places like Dallas.
The residential median home price in Denver hovers around $475,000 as of October 2020. That’s a steal for the migrants from California, but the sheer numbers of them coming in is pricing locals out of the housing market. The median monthly rent here – and that includes one-bedroom apartments – is around $1100 a month.
Note that you could get much more for a spacious single-family home for rent or a large condo. With a 3 bedroom detached single-family home, you could receive well over $2000 per month in rent. You’ll find strong ROI numbers for the Denver real estate market.
Denver’s Quality of Life
We can joke about the people who moved to Colorado decades ago, inspired by the movie “Rocky Mountain High”. We’re not going to joke about the over-hyped medical marijuana industry there today. U.S. News & World Report published its list of the “150 Best Places to Live in the U.S.,” and four of the top five cities are right here in Colorado: Boulder (1), Denver (2), Colorado Springs (4), and Fort Collins (5). Denver was the second-best city to live in that list.
The area was a little lower on value than many like, but it ranked high on jobs, quality of life, and desirability. It is a beautiful city to live near the mountains – located on the western edge of the exquisitely beautiful High Plains. It is exactly one mile high above sea level and has the largest city park system in the nation, with 14,000 acres of mountain parks and 2,500 acres of natural areas.
That isn’t enough on its own to draw huge numbers of people to the Denver real estate market, but it is a factor. It has become the 19th-most populous city in the nation. The current metro area population of Denver in 2020 is 2,827,000, a 1.33% increase from 2019 (Macrotrends.net).
Denver was ranked as a Beta world city by the Globalization and World Cities Research Network. It has been one of the fastest-growing major cities in the United States, and real estate investments provide a direct way to participate in the strong growth of these economies. The strength of the overall economy significantly impacts the real estate market.
Denver’s Strong Economy & Jobs Boost Its Real Estate Market
Job growth directly affects the real estate market. Demand for all types of real estate increases with the number of local jobs, as during periods of economic development or boom. Jobs are a major reason why people move to Denver in the first place. The Denver area’s unemployment rate is less than 3%.
Denver’s unemployment rate has been well below the national average for years. The unemployment rate was 2.3% as of Dec 2019, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The average weekly wages for all industries in Denver Area are $1,265 (the U.S. = $1,093). That explains why Denver is one of the top cities for in-migration, attracting people from all over the state as well as the country.
Due to its proximity to the mineral-rich Rocky Mountains, Denver has long been a home for mining and energy companies such as Halliburton, Smith International, Newmont Mining, and Noble Energy. The top 25 employers in Metro Denver include government and municipal organizations, and corporations.
Denver’s The Strong Tourism Market
Denver is well known for its proximity to the Rockies. Other attractions in the area include but are not limited to the Denver Zoo and the Denver Botanic Gardens. Many of those 30 million tourists would love to have rented a house or apartment for their visit instead of a hotel. Then there’s the business traveler. Denver hosts around 80 conventions a year, too.
Whether someone is staying for a week for a convention or working a contract job in the tourism industry, this drives demand for short-term rentals that can be incredibly profitable. Renting on sites like Airbnb is legal if you have a business license, though around half of the Airbnb rentals are thought to be violating that rule. Denver is particularly progressive with allowing people to rent out their homes and apartments on Airbnb, though landlords may not agree with it.
Known Areas of Redevelopment
You don’t want to invest in the Denver housing market and end up losing money because the neighborhood is going downhill. Conversely, areas slated for redevelopment will almost certainly go up. And Denver has known and planned for areas of redevelopment. Downtown Denver saw multiple infill projects downtown ten years ago. Redevelopment is planned around Elitch Gardens today.
Key trade point for the country – Denver is home to several large corporations in the central United States. Denver South is home to 7 Fortune 500 companies. Denver was named 6th on Forbes Magazine’s “Best Places for Business and Careers.” Home for mining and energy companies such as Halliburton, Smith International, Newmont Mining, and Noble Energy.
Credit: https://www.noradarealestate.com/
