A branding perspective from Après Creative
You will find heaps of Colorado and Denver pride here at Après Creative. Two of our principals are Denver natives, and we all love living here. It’s a perfect mix of stunning natural beauty, plenty of outdoor recreation, incredible people and culture ‒ and beer, mmm, Colorado beer ‒ and we couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.
Beyond our personal Colorado fan club, however, there are many reasons Denver and surrounding areas are prime housing markets. Below is our market snapshot for property managers in Denver.
Look for similar snapshots of additional markets in future posts.
Population and job growth
A Q2 report from Colliers illustrates the strength of Denver’s multifamily market beautifully. Page 2 of the report features two charts: one showing the metro area’s steady population growth and housing development struggling to keep up with demand; the other highlighting job growth and a correlating dip in vacancy rates.
A JLL report highlights Denver’s low unemployment rate (3.3 percent compared to a national average of 4.9 percent), and most of those jobs were added in the professional and hospitality categories.
More people with good jobs translates to buying power ‒ and renting power.
High demand for rentals
These numbers spell great news for property managers. In Denver, the demand is there. People are moving here for new jobs, but that’s not all. There’s just something about Denver that is drawing people in:
In fact, U.S. News and World Report named Denver the No. 1 place to live for 2016. The publication ranked cities based on a number of factors, including quality of life, value and available jobs. Denver earning a score of 9.9 out of 10 for desirability.
Let’s face it: People want us. We cool kids have known it all along, but word is getting out that Denver is the place to be.
We have a laid-back vibe that is hard to find elsewhere, and people respond to that. Our climate is really hard to beat: I mean, where else would you find a random week of sun and 65 degrees in January, but still enjoy the snow sparkling on the mountains?
Oh, and did we mention we’re home to the reigning Super Bowl Champs? Yup.
How to market multifamily in Denver
So, how do you reach all those savvy people who want to be part of the Denver scene? More importantly, how do you convince them to rent an apartment from you and not the building down the block?
For starters, Coloradans and Denverites love all things local. If you are a locally owned property, play that up. If not, find ways to incorporate local flavor into your property: add a juice bar with farm-to-table elements, host bicycle tours of your neighborhood for residents, fill your lobby and shared spaces with local art and photography… the ideas are endless.
Next, use the mountains as part of your background vibe ‒ but please don’t use them in your logo. That is oh-so overdone in this town and, trust us, we will sway you away from that. You can have a clean, modern design that appeals to both outdoorsy types and more cosmopolitan young professionals. We can help; don’t worry.
Use transit as a selling point. If your property is situated along a light-rail line, that is a huge plus for renters. (We did some branding work for West Link at Oak Station that did just that.)
Keep your demographic in mind when developing your brand elements. Many people move to Denver and Colorado to enjoy the great outdoors. Others are after city life, arts and culture. Choose elements that fit both your target renter and your Denver locale.
As for us, a proud Colorado company, we use local products and vendors as much as we can. We love supporting other local businesses and showing off our Colorado pride. If you are a Denver property manager or owner looking for some fresh design and branding ideas, give us a call. We would love to collaborate with you on branding and marketing your unique property. Check out some of our recent work.
