Housing Forward Colorado argues that new market-rate apartments in Denver are not mainly luxury housing. Using Census data, the piece says nearly 80% of units built from 2020 to 2024 are affordable to households at 100% of area median income, and nearly half are affordable to a two-person household at 80% of AMI. It also says only 3% of new apartments are affordable only to households above 120% of AMI.
If the goal is more homes people can actually afford, then market-rate production is part of the answer, not a detour from it. The piece also makes the stronger point: more supply can ease rents across the market, especially in the lower-cost segment, while cities keep working on subsidized housing for the households the market does not serve. That is policy as designed and policy as built. If we want rents to stay within reach, we need steady production, more multifamily homes, and fewer rules that block multifamily housing.
The reporting belongs to Housing Forward Colorado; the read here is mine.