Denver's recent apartment construction boom has driven down rents. In our new blog, Luke Teater & I use RealPage data to measure rent changes.

Notably, rents in Class C buildings, the most affordable segment, fell twice as fast as pricier Class A and B units.

housingforwardco.org/denvers-hous...

New Colorado Sun article: Will adding more lanes fix I-270 congestion? CDOT’s favored fix will test its new mission, opponents say.
coloradosun.com/2025/11/11/i...

This $725M project is one of several costly highway expansions CDOT’s considering in the upcoming 10 year plan.

New @pewtrusts.org research shows that adding lots of new housing supply lowers rents, especially in older and more affordable Class C apartments. In Denver, average rents fell 4.2% overall in 2023–24, and Class C rents dropped 7.6%.
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Shoutout to Denver for building this sweet protected bike lane on South Broadway. At first I was skeptical but now I use it almost daily, and it looks like I’m not the only one… Now please extend it through Golden Triangle, downtown and into Rino thanks

2) A lot more service. For example, the Denver > Fort Collins bus runs every 45-60 minutes, up from just a few times per day in 2021.

Coloradans are looking for ways to opt-out of traffic and when those options are fast, frequent, and safe, people will use them.
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It's official - last night, Boulder voted to eliminate minimum parking requirements for all new development citywide! 👏 The city's had parking minimums since 1954, which has forced builders to oversupply parking, resulting in empty lots, less housing, & higher rents.
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Yet these more affordable housing types are illegal to build in the majority of the county. According to the Zoning Atlas:

- 95% of residential zoned land allows single-family homes
- 9% allows duplexes/triplexes as of right
- 4% allows 4+ homes & multifamily housing

@zoningatlas.bsky.social

New housing cost data from Arapahoe County shows single-family homes are $250,000 more expensive than townhomes & condos ($600k vs $350k).
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In many cases, these state laws serve as a policy floor, allowing local govts to respond in their own unique ways, in some cases going above & beyond the minimum requirements. Read the report for the full list of cities, along with stories and code examples from around the state.

2) Parking Flexibility: Nearly 1.9 million Coloradans in 19 communities live in communities that have removed or are in the process of removing costly parking mandates for multifamily housing to comply with HB24-1304.

1) Accessory Dwelling Units: More than 3 million Coloradans in 28 communities now live in communities that have updated local codes in response to HB24-1152 to make ADUs legal and easier to build.

An RTD bus stop getting hosed by a sprinkler this morning.
Good metaphor for how we treat transit riders in Colorado (and then wonder why more people don’t use it)

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Vehicle collisions with wildlife, pedestrians, and bicyclists cost lives and money. Thankfully, a new #COLeg bill will help reduce these. Thank you, Reps. Andy Boesenecker & @meghanlukens.bsky.social & Sens. Faith Winter & Dylan Roberts for making safer roads for all. #COPolitics bit.ly/4bZIxBD

Here’s the concern: New housing starts plummeted in 2022-2023, when apartment permits in Denver dropped by 80%.

Given the 2-3 year lag from permits to completions, this could lead to a housing scarcity in 2026-2027, when rents may rise again.
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