Vacancy rates up 10 percent

By Emily Shockley
Thursday, February 11, 2010

Vacancy rates for Grand Junction rental properties have increased 10.1 percent in one year, according to data released today by the Colorado Division of Housing.

Locally, vacancy went from 3.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 to 13.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. In the third quarter of 2009, 7.5 percent of Grand Junction rentals sat empty.

Grand Junction had the highest vacancy rate of any Colorado metropolitan area in the fourth quarter. The reason for the increased rate is likely related to unemployment, according to Gordon Von Stroh, who authored the fourth quarter housing vacancy report.