This is what I am dealing with

Found this article in the Grand Junction local newspaper. Isn't it sad and depressing???

Apartments difficult to find, high-priced for those who do

By LE ROY STANDISH
The Daily Sentinel

Thursday, June 19, 2008

The apartment vacancy rate in Grand Junction rose one-tenth of 1 percent in the first quarter of this year, according to the latest numbers from the Colorado Division of Housing.

The vacancy rate is 1.8 percent, up from 1.7 percent in the last quarter of 2007. The numbers are indicative of a tight rental market, which means higher rent and fewer available apartments.

The average apartment rent in the Grand Junction area is $648 a month. Five years ago, in the first quarter of 2003, the average rent for a two-bedroom, one-bath apartment was $496 a month, according to the division.

“Rents are up considerably. It jumped $50 from a couple quarters ago to this quarter,” said Ryan McMaken, spokesman for the division of housing. “Rents are just way up from what they were just a couple of years ago.”

The vacancy rate has bounced between 1.5 percent and 2.1 percent since the first quarter of 2007.

“So really it is no change,” said Cindy Hoppe, manager of the property management division of Bray Property Management in Grand Junction. “It means the market is really tight.”

A rate of 1.8 percent indicates new tenants are moving in almost as quickly as people move out. Apartments do not remain empty for long, Hoppe said.

“It is a sign that we need more affordable housing,” she said.

Grand Junction has among the lowest vacancy rates in the state.

Only Buena Vista (1.2 percent), Salida (1.3 percent) and Aspen and Glenwood Springs (1.4 percent each) have lower apartment vacancy rates.

Comparing Grand Junction to the Front Range, the apartment vacancy rate is 5.9 percent in the Denver area, 6.4 percent in Adams County, and 5.6 percent in Jefferson County.

And this doesn't even include all the other types of rentals.