Pueblo apartment vacancies dwindle to 2 percent as costs rise

Renters looking for an apartment in Pueblo face little choice as the vacancy rate among the city’s rental properties sits at a critically low 2.3%.

“State housing officials, who compile apartment numbers across the state, say that any time the vacancy rate is below 5%, it’s a problem for people looking for rental housing,” said Linda Stefanic, who along with her husband Steve Landlady has been in Pueblo for over 40 years.

“The big problem is that there are few jobs.”

All sectors of the city are struggling with low vacancy rates between 1.8% and 2.6%. In comparison, in the second quarter of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Colorado Division of Housing reported that Pueblo’s housing vacancy rate was 2.4% among 9,286 multifamily units, so the situation hasn’t improved.

Part of the availability issue is attributed to the fact that “in some of the larger buildings, many units are vacant for remodeling,” Stefanic explained.

Compared to neighboring Colorado Springs’ 4.4% vacancy rate, Pueblo’s situation is grim.

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“The second big problem is that they (available housing) are not affordable for many people,” Stefanic said.

An $800-a-month apartment often costs $2,400 to move into, when you add up the deposit and the first and last month’s rent.

“Another problem is that wages are so low here,” said Stefanic.

Many landlords charge their tenants an income high enough that their rental costs do not exceed 1/3 of that income. So those with minimum-wage jobs or even two part-time jobs probably won’t qualify for that $800 condo, Stefanic explained.

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The housing office has no vacancies

Even the Housing Authority for the City of Pueblo, which provides about 800 housing units for low-income residents, has closed its waiting lists because “we don’t have that inventory right now,” said Steven Trujillo, executive director of the Housing Authority.

“Occasionally they open but we see the same crunch as everyone else.”

The agency is demolishing the old Sangre de Cristo Apartments at 2619 Crawford St. in phases and building new Mountain View Townhomes to replace the 212-unit apartment complex that was built in the 1950s.

“By the end of the four phases here in a couple of years, we’ll only have added a few extra units – not much, unfortunately,” Trujillo said.

“There’s a big need in Pueblo,” Trujillo said. “The difficulty is getting these projects together and finding the resources to build it — it takes time and affordability — access to materials, labor and land — all the different pieces that come with that.”

Trujillo said the city’s partners in the housing drive, such as NeighborWorks of the Pueblo Branch of Southern Colorado and Posada, are pursuing other programs and projects that “hopefully will help bring some additional units online for the community,” he said.

“We have a coupon program, but they can’t use the coupons anywhere. It’s a cascading effect, but hopefully we can rise to the challenge,” Trujillo said.

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housing costs rise

A comparison of the average housing cost in Pueblo is instructive. In a year and a half, between June 2020 and December 2021, costs have increased by an average of 11% for two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartments to 42% for efficiency apartments.

Landlords have had to increase rents due to inflation, a rise in property tax costs, and rising insurance costs.

“We’ve had to raise rents a bit because we’re trying to keep up with everything else,” said Kim Schmidt, who is a rental manager at ReMax.

How to find available homes in Pueblo

Schmidt said renters can check Puebloarearentals.com to see what’s available and fill out an application. This website represents approximately 1,100 rental units in the city ranging in size from one to four bedrooms.

“At the moment maybe a dozen apartments are empty. If you find one, you want to grab it,” Schmidt said.

“I’ve never seen it that hard,” Schmidt said of her 15 years in the business.

Stefanic, who has been in the rental business for four decades, said she has seen some periods in the past that have also been difficult.

“The 1980s were tough when the (steel) mill was laying off so many workers and people couldn’t afford their rent,” she recalls.

According to Stefanic, a good place to look for available homes is Coloradohousingsearch.com, which currently lists 32 available Pueblo rental properties ranging in price from $700 to $1,105 per month. However, some of these units have a waiting list. She also suggests sites like Zillow, Truila, Hotpads, and Apartments.com.

She said renters should be wary of scams because even sites like Craigslist are sometimes difficult for landlords and potential renters.

“Nowadays we don’t have to look for renters anymore,” said Stefanic, a member of the Southern Colorado Residential Rental Association. “As soon as a U-Haul pulled up in front of one of my apartments, people would call me because they got my number from the tenant who was moving out.”

“The tight market and low wages are currently making it extremely difficult to find a place,” said Stefanic.

What the future holds for Pueblo housing

The Pueblo Springs Apartments project, which covers 18 acres southwest of the intersection of 31st Street and North Pueblo Boulevard, should provide some relief to the rental market.

The future multi-family development will include a first phase of 200 residential units including a clubhouse, pool, dog park and open spaces, followed in the near future by a second phase of 110 units.

“It’s going to be an excellent project — that’s what Pueblo needs — a premier, market-priced condominium project with all the amenities you would see in Colorado Springs or Denver,” said Tuscon, Arizona property owner Emery Chukly.

Average housing cost in Pueblo

June 2020 compared to December 2021

Efficiency from $475 to $673, a 42% increase

One bedroom $723 to $836, up 16%

Two bedroom, one bath $776 to $879, up 13%

Two bedroom, two bath $1,126 to $1,249, an 11% increase

Three Bedroom $1,134 to $1,309, a 15% increase

Statistics courtesy of Colorado Division of Housing and Southern Colorado Residential Rental Association

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Chief reporter Tracy Harmon covers business news. She can be reached via email at [email protected] or via Twitter at twitter.com/tracywumps.