Multifamily Rental Building Permits Soar

Through September, there have been 1,031 multifamily permits issued inthe city and county of Denver compared with 551 in 2003; 515 in Douglas County, compared with none in 2003; 320 in Boulder, compared with 26 in 2003; 216 in Thornton, compared with 300 in 2003; 93 in Littleton and 66 in Lakewood, with zero permits pulled in those cities in the first nine months of 2003.

For the month of September, permit activity is 74% higher than in 2003. There were 378 permits pulled in September, compared with 217 pulledin the September 2003. In September, all of the activity took place in two cities, Denver and Littleton. In Denver, 285 permits were pulled, compared with 193 in September 2003, while 93 permits were pulled in Littleton, while no permits were pulled in September 2003.

Despite the large percentage increases, veteran multifamily broker Jeff Hawks, principal of Apartment Realty Advisors, says he is not worried about overbuilding. Last year, developers pulled the fewest number of permits in a decade, and this year will probably end up as the second lowest in the past 10 years, he says.

Also, he says no developer is able to get financing for the typical suburban, garden-style apartment communities that dominated the construction landscape of the 1990s. Rather, all of the construction activity is either urban centers such as in Denver, where demand still exists; transit-oriented developments along light-rail stops; or tax-exempt financed deals for communities aimed at people and families with low- and mid-priced incomes.