#624: 590 Empty Units in One Zip Code | Denver's Rental Market is Broken

Denver’s rental market is telling two very different stories right now. Single-family homes are holding their rent levels year over year, but condos and older multifamily units are getting hit hard. Eric Ross of CRT Management walked through three Denver submarkets that show the split clearly, and the numbers are sobering for anyone holding condo or small multi inventory. Chris Lopez sits down with Eric, who manages 950 doors across the Denver metro and has spent 18 years in local property management. Eric pulled real Zillow data from Aurora North, the 225 and Chambers corridor, and the Wheat Ridge and Lakewood submarket. In one Aurora zip code, there are 48 single-family rentals available compared to 590 condo and multifamily units competing for the same tenants. One-bedroom rents in that pocket have dropped to $745 a month, levels he hasn’t seen in over a decade. Robinwood tells the story even more sharply. Two years ago, Eric was getting nearly $2,700 for a three-bedroom through the Housing Choice Voucher program. Today, those same units are renting closer to $1,895, pricing that takes the complex back to 2018 and 2019 levels. Eric also breaks down why Denver County logged 15,953 eviction filings in 2025, which is up roughly 72% from pre-pandemic levels, and what Colorado’s recent legislation around income requirements, credit checks, and habitability has done to landlord operations. In This Episode We Cover: Why single-family rents are holding while condos and older multi keep softening The Aurora submarket with 590 competing condo and multi listings How the Robinwood rent drop from $2,700 to $1,895 reflects the broader condo market Why HUD did a mid-year Fair Market Rent adjustment in late 2025 How the 2x rent income mandate is driving evictions higher Eviction timelines now running 50 to 90 days depending on notice type A risk mitigation partnership giving landlords up to $10,000 per tenancy in protection Eric also shares his outlook for mid-2027 rents and what he thinks needs to happen for the market to stabilize. Whether you own a single-family rental, a condo, or a small multi in the Denver metro, this conversation gives you the ground-level data you need to make smart decisions through the rest of this cycle. Subscribe to the Denver Real Estate Investing Podcast for new episodes every Tuesday. Watch the Youtube Video https://youtu.be/qiAhYZAzw0s Timestamps 00:00 – Welcome and Eric Ross introduction 02:15 – 2025 vs 2026 rent comparison across unit types 06:08 – Aurora North submarket, 48 single-family vs 590 condos and multi 11:03- Comparing today’s cycle to 2008 12:48 – 225 and Chambers submarket and the Robinwood case study 17:12 – HUD’s mid-year Fair Market Rent adjustment 22:45 – Wheat Ridge and Lakewood submarket breakdown 25:04 – Denver eviction filings up 72% from pre-pandemic 26:35 – How the 2x rent income mandate is driving evictions 30:14- Eviction timelines and the 10-day vs 30-day CARES Act split 34:00 – Violence Against Women Act protections and compliance cases 36:30- The House Bill 1090 utility billback fix 40:03 – Risk mitigation through private and public housing partnerships 47:27 – Rent forecast for mid-2027 Links in Podcast CRT Management Website: CRTManage.comCRT Management Email: [email protected] Ross on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ericrossindnever/Workforce Housing CoalitionAAMDColorado Coalition for the Homeless Rocky Mountain Human Services