State housing officials say median rents in the Denver metro area are rising slightly, as apartment vacancies drop to a new ten-year low.

The apartment vacancy rate for the six-county Denver metro region fell to 4.8 percent in the second quarter of this year. That鈥檚 a 21% drop from the same time period last year, and is the lowest rate recorded since early 2001.  

鈥淭hat, of course, was back before the last recession, back before the dot-com bust,鈥� says Colorado Division of Housing spokesman Ryan McMaken. 鈥淲hether we鈥檙e headed that low again is difficult to say, but certainly the numbers are the lowest they鈥檝e been since that period, it鈥檚 been about ten years now.鈥�

McMaken says median rents are up, although less than expected given the high demand for rental properties. Rents rose an average of 2.5%, compared to a 3% increase in the consumer price index.  McMaken says the lack of job and wage growth is helping to keep rent increases in check for now.