The world is coming to Denver (so put on your pants, everyone)--real estate investors of all stripes really want to be here now, and they especially like apartment properties in the Central Denver submarket, according to ARA principal Terrance Hunt.

Investors are attracted to the growing renter demand, new employers, and large-scale infrastructure projects, including the Union Station Redevelopment, Terrance says, adding that Colorado has always seen consistent in-migration, with metro Denver getting over 16,000 people relocations in 2013. (Interesting timing, considering the new type of retail on the market.) The majority of the individuals moving to Denver are young professionals, between the ages of 20 to 34, looking to live in Central Denver.

Investors also see continued upside to rents. With demand far outpacing supply, new apartment projects that were budgeting for $1.90/SF rents in the planning stages are now able to push almost $3/SF, Terrance says. “This rent growth has caught the eye of many investors nationwide, and more than 50% of our offers in the past three years have come from out-of-state investors trying to break into the Denver market." Local investors are still active, too: recently ARA brokered the sale of the 12-unit 910 S Pearl in West Wash Park, repping a private investor in its sale to Blue Family Development, who are local (ARA's Robert Bratley and Justin Hunt worked on that deal).