Colorado Springs Rental Market Activity

Colorado Springs is coming off a four-year apartment construction boom — more than 14,800 units were added since 2022, more than the entire 2000–2021 period combined, and downtown's apartment inventory alone now tops 4,300 units. That wave of new supply pushed rents down through 2025, with the average falling below $1,400 by year-end for the first time since 2021, and landlords leaning on concessions like six to eight weeks free rent to fill units.

That construction wave has now crested. As of mid-2026, completions over the prior 12 months were down 58% year over year, and renters absorbed 2,508 units against 1,488 delivered. Metro apartment vacancy fell to 6.6% in the second quarter of 2026, down from 7.3% in the first quarter, while the average apartment rent edged up about 2.2%, from $1,389 to $1,419, and downtown occupancy climbed to 85.7% as new buildings leased up. Rents bottomed out around the turn of the year and have been climbing since: Apartment List's October 2026 report puts the citywide median at $1,372 ($1,134 for a one-bedroom, $1,328 for a two-bedroom), up 3.4% so far in 2026, including a 0.9% gain in September that ranked #7 among the 100 largest U.S. cities. Year over year, most sources now show rents flat to up about 2%. One-bedroom apartments remain the soft spot, and concessions are still common as newer communities compete for renters.

Larger homes are holding up better than small apartments. Zumper shows 3- and 4-bedroom rents up 1–2% over the past year while studios and one-bedrooms are down, and the typical house lists at $2,275 a month versus $1,228 for an apartment. Zillow's single-family rent index for the metro is up about 2.9% year over year as of September 2026, to roughly $2,326 a month, and its all-homes index is also up about 2.9%, to roughly $1,764. Near the bases, the Southwest apartment submarket by Fort Carson posted the metro's lowest vacancy in the second quarter, 4.7%, and homes near Fort Carson and Peterson Space Force Base often command a 5–10% premium over comparable properties elsewhere in the metro. Metro population is projected to reach roughly 716,000 by the end of 2026, and analysts expect a sustainable ~2.8% annual rent growth pace going forward, rather than a return to pandemic-era spikes.