Year-End Rent Rise Rattles Outlook For 2026

by Valley Gadfly | Dec 15, 2025 | Main Articles

Slight Metro Rent Rate Up-Tick Expected; Denver Ranks 20th Among Nation’s Rental Markets 

by Glen Richardson

Unclear Market: The Denver rental market is in flux which has rental property owners of all price points concerned.

Denver’s year-end rents will surge slightly — forecasts to be up 0.8% — as 2025 comes to a close. The upbeat is being supported by an improving supply-demand balance.

Metro rental rates, however, are down $71 since the second quarter of 2024, and $46 lower than the same period in 2023. Denver ranks 20th among the nation’s metro rental markets, with median rent for a one-bedroom at $1,760.

Property management company Keyrent­er Denver says, “The Mile High’s rental market lately is like trying to hit a moving target. Vacancy numbers, rent trends, and development stats are shifting fast. Many landlords are noticing the ripple effects firsthand with slower lease-ups, more tenant inquiries, and a noticeable change in momentum.”

Upturn In 2026?

Downtown Digs: CoLab Apartments on Osage St. downtown has units for rent ranging from $935 to $2,176.

As of October 2025, the average rent in Denver was $1,627 per month. The national average rent price in the U.S. is currently $1,629 per month, which puts Denver rent prices $2 lower than the national average.

According to MMG Real Estate Advisors, Denver’s rental market is expected to shift from softness in 2025 to a moderate rent recovery by early 2026. They forecast a 2% to 3% annual rent growth.

Mountain region cities have seen a significant drop in rent costs over the last year, with prices in Denver down more than most. According to a report by rental website Zumper, rent prices in the Mile High City have gone down by 7.3% since September 2024.

Supply Surge

Ventana Venture: The Ventana at Colorado Station has studios to 3-bedrooms with rates at $872 to $2,315 per month.

The first half of 2025 reshaped Denver’s rental landscape. Apartment vacancies climb­ed to around 7%, marking the highest level since 2010. The spike was driven by an unprecedented flood of inventory — 20,000 new units were delivered in 2024 alone, with another 8,000 hitting the market in early 2025.

As supplies surged, average rents fell by around 3.6% year-over-year, with figures ranging from $1,733 to $1,824, depending on location and unit type.

Cushman & Wakefield even ranked Denver’s second quarter absorption among the top six quarters ever recorded nationally. Denver’s appeal as a relocation destination is holding firm.

Mobile Market

Glendale Glamor: The Phenix at Infinity Park on E. Mississippi Ave. in Glendale has 1 & 2-bedrooms renting from $999 to $1,669 per month.

Renters in Denver aren’t staying put for long. More than half move to a new place in less than two years, making the metro one of the most mobile rental markets in the U.S., according to RentCafe.com.

Denver ranks 5th among the nation’s “move-easy” hotspots. In Denver, 53% of renters move to a different apartment within two years. That’s up 19% in five years, even as the renter population dipped slightly. The local housing supply grew by nearly 10%, giving renters more choices and flexibility.

In Denver, Gen Z renters (78%) move the most, though they’reswitching their homes slightly less often than before. Moreover, Millennials (60%) remain just as mobile as before.

Safety Comes First

Creek Contrast: Rental options in Cherry Creek North range from Clayton Lane where 2-bedrooms bring $3,800 to 205 Columbine St. where 2-bedrooms are $6,500.

Most renters’ ideal apartment is one that offers style plus suburban comfort (41%). That’s followed by mixed-use convenience (33%), and eco-friendly living (28%).

When choosing neighborhoods, renters say safety comes first at 54%. Walkability and proximity to shopping and public transportation are also high on their list.

Budget-friendly neighborhoods (40%) adds to rentability — whether quiet or lively — where affordability meets comfort.

Stiff Competition

Despite the softening in rent and rising vacancies, leasing activity has remained robust. MMG Real Estate Advisors and CBRE — a real estate service & investment company — reported nearly 6,000 net absorbed units in the first half of the year.

Data from Institutional Property Advisors and MMG shows that older apartment buildings and C-class condos — especially those without amenities or recent updates — are struggling the most.

These units face stiff competition from newer, more incentivized alternatives, and are often where vacancy has climbed the fastest. Rent compression in these segments has been sharper, and in some submarkets, leasing speed has slowed considerably.

Pipeline Shrinks

Buildup Boom: More than 8,000 new condo-apartment units hit the Denver market in early 2025, reshaping Denver’s rental landscape.

A key turning point this year is how Denver’s construction pipeline is finally shrinking, albeit from previously record-breaking levels.

Denver-based CoStar Group — a commercial real estate data & analytics company — says that while approximately 19,000 new apartment units were delivered in 2024, the forecast for 2025 was a sharp drop to around 6,600 completions.

Upshot: The oversupply wave is receding, but not overnight. With 2025 completions expected to be nearly two-thirds lower than the previous year, inventory pressure was expected to begin easing by the fourth quarter. That shift — if actual — sets the stage for stabilization and early 2026 rent recovery.

Upgrades Help

For rental property owners, the next six months will be ideal for making smart, cost-effective improvements that boost tenant satisfaction and property performance. Whether it’s replacing aging fixtures, improving curb appeal, or upgrading outdated appliances, small enhancements can set a property apart.

Owners, property professionals suggest, should reach out directly to current tenants and ask if there are any minor upgrades they would like, items such as fresh bathroom flooring or better lighting.

Sometimes, they point out, low-cost improvements are all it takes to encourage a long-term renewal. That they note, can save far more than a full turnover. That’s especially true in today’s competitive environment.

Occupancy Drops

Metro apartment supply jumped 1.67%, more than double the 0.75% increase recorded last year. For renters, that meant more listings to choose from. As a result, 57% of renters renewed their leases, 0.9% fewer than last year.

The added supply was enough to pull occupancy down to 91.8%, compared to 94.3% a year ago. This season, seven renters competed for each available apartment, down from 10 last year. Apartments leased in 41 days on average, compared to just 35 a year ago.

Denver’s Rental Competitiveness Index (RCI) dropped to 67.9, down from 78, showing that the market is still competitive but significantly less intense than a year ago.

Rental Rates

The vacancy rate in Denver is the highest in the metro at 7.7%. The metro vacancy rate — the percentage of empty apartments on the market — is higher than at any time in the past 15 years.

Near the end of 2025 there were a total of 440,521 rentable units on the market. Nearly 31,000 apartments were unoccupied on any given day. Most often, vacant units are ready and waiting for their next tenant. The higher the vacancy rate, the better the deal for renters.

Median rent in the city of Denver for a two-bedroom apartment is $1,653. Apartments built before the 1970s are averaging $1,586, while newer units with more amenities are averaging as much as $2,340 a month.

Denver Mint Is Down To Its Last Penny

by Mark Smiley | Dec 15, 2025 | Main Articles

A Penny Saved Is Now More Than Just A Penny Earned, It’s Also A Relic Of History

by Mark Smiley

Three Step: A 1927-D three leg buffalo nickel sells from $1.50 in good condition, or up to $22,500 for uncirculated coins.

Nickel’s Worth: Costing 14 cents to mint, the nickel’s cost will potentially lead it to face the same fate as the penny.

Penny Pinched: The Denver Mint has stopped minting new pennies. It costs more to produce a penny than it is worth.

Among the first coins produced more than 230 years ago, the United States is ceasing to mint new pennies as 2026 gets underway. The decision was made because it costs more to produce a penny than it is worth.

Existing pennies will remain legal tender and can still be used. However, once lost or damaged, they will not be replaced, as the government will no longer be supplying them. There’s also likely little value to stockpiling pennies, even as production halts. Unless you have a rare penny, your one-cent coins are likely still only worth one cent.

This isn’t the first time the U.S. has done away with a coin. In 1857, Congress discontinued the half-cent coin. Canada stopped minting its penny in 2012. In 2024, it cost the U.S. Mint 3.7 cents to produce and distribute a penny. This means taxpayers were essentially subsidizing the production of a coin that had little purchasing power.

Costly To Make

When it was introduced in 1793, a penny could buy a biscuit, a candle, or a piece of candy. Now most of them are cast aside to sit in jars or junk drawers, and each one costs nearly 4 cents to make.

Penny shortages are expected in mid-to-late 2026 but could, of course, set in — sooner. That could leave everyone — state and federal governments, as well as businesses — scrambling to put together policies on how to handle cash transactions without pennies.

Many businesses say they may round change. They can do that by either rounding up the change (if you’re owed $19.24, you get $19.25) or rounding the transaction down (your $6.13 transaction becomes $6.10).

Cost Versus Value

Compared to other coins, pennies are not expensive to make. Compared to its own value, however, they are expensive.

Penny Scoop: Denver Mint’s Guillermo Hernandez scoops a handful of “cents blanks” that will be stamped into pennies.

The average cost to make a single penny rose to 3.69 cents in 2024, marking the 19th consecutive year the coin has “remained above face value,” per the U.S. Mint report.

For comparison, it costs less than six cents to make a dime, about 15 cents to make a quarter, and nearly 34 cents for a half-dollar.

Pennies Per Person

That jar of pennies on your bookcase or dresser is not “skyrocketing in value.”

In 2024, about a quarter trillion pennies were estimated to be in circulation, or more than 700 pennies for each person in the United States.

A 5-gallon jug of pennies is worth approximately $350 to $450 in face value, depending on how densely they are packed. The total value could be significantly higher if the jug contains rare or old pennies.

You do not have to keep all your pennies, as they are still legal tender and can be spent or deposited into a bank. Hoarding them is generally not a good financial strategy because there are billions in circulation and they are not expected to become valuable collector’s items. It’s best to spend them, cash them in at a bank, or use a coin-counting machine, though be aware some machines charge a fee for cash payouts.

Penny Of Steel

During World War II’s critical years, the U.S. Mint made an unprecedented decision that would forever change American coinage. To conserve copper for military ammunition production, the traditional bronze penny was replaced with zinc-coated steel for 1943 only.

This wartime change created one of the most dramatic value contrasts in coin collecting. Most 1943 steel pennies remain affordable treasures. A fine condition example trades for just $0.69, while even “Mint State” specimens typically reach only $22.50 to $27.83, depending on the mint mark.

However, a few copper planchets accidentally remained in the presses, creating the legendary 1943 bronze pennies. A good condition bronze penny commands $43,067, while pristine Mint State examples soar to an astounding $723,350. This represents one of the most spectacular value jumps in numismatic history — from pocket change to potential retirement fund.

Pricy Pennies

A 1943 copper (bronze) penny is worth over a million dollars. They were created by an error when the U.S. Mint accidentally used leftover copper planchets instead of zinc-coated steel ones, which were needed for World War II.

The most valuable examples are those in the best condition, with specific coins selling for over $1 million, and the unique 1943-D bronze cent selling for $1.7 million in 2010.

Penny Wise: The Denver Mint is going to cease producing U.S. pennies due to their relative lack of value. There are exceptions as the above ­penny, the 1943-D Bronze Lincoln Wheat Cent, is ­estimated to be worth over $1.7 Million. When you go through your old pennies, be sure not to throw this one away.

To check if a 1943 penny might be rare, test it with a magnet. If it’s magnetic, it’s one of the common steel pennies worth only a few cents. However, if it’s not magnetic, it’s a valuable bronze error coin.

Is The Nickel Next?

It costs nearly 14 cents to make a ­nickel, significantly more than the 3.7 cents to make a penny. Thus, it faces a situation similar to the penny’s. Doing so, however, is more complicated than eliminating the penny. It would necessitate a new “rounding rule” for cash transactions ending in 5 cents, potentially increasing the “rounding tax” on consumers. Nevertheless, the nickel’s cost will potentially lead it to face the same fate as the penny.

The cost to mint a single nickel is significantly higher that its face value. It cost the U.S. Mint 13.78 cents to produce one nickel in 2024. That’s nearly nine cents per coin. The loss is even greater than that of the penny, which costs 3.69 cents to produce.

Coin Toss: After 230 years, the United States is ceasing to mint new pennies as 2026 gets underway.

Given the high cost of production and shifting consumer spending habits the nickel may eventually face the same fate as the penny. That’s particularly true if inflation continues to erode its purchasing power. Moreover, many other countries that have removed their smaller denomination coins later phased out the newest-lower coin.

A 1999 penny can be worth as much as $4,500 today because of a rare minting error called a “wide AM” variety, where the “A” and “M” in “AMERICA” are spaced further apart than normal. This error occurred when a reverse die intended for proof coins, which has a wide space, was mistakenly used on some business-strike pennies meant for circulation.