Average Rent Drops…But?

The 2nd Quarter Denver Metro Area Apartment Vacancy and Rent Survey was released last week and for the first time since 2010 average rent dropped year over year from $1536 a month to $1506 a month this year. The Denver Post incorrectly said that average rents dropped by $360 a month. My stats from last year showed average rent in the 2nd quarter of $1528. Here are some more stats-
Developers completed 1,170 new apartment units in the 2nd quarter.
Amazing tenants absorbed 3,801 units in the 2nd quarter. This means 3,801 more apartments were rented at the end of the 2nd quarter versus the beginning of the 2nd quarter. This shocked me!
Because of this the vacancy rate dropped from 5.9% in the first quarter to just 5.1% in the 2nd quarter.

I wonder if rents dropped because investors and landlords panicked a little bit when filing vacant units due to Covid? To see the vacancy rate drop by nearly 1 percentage point during Covid is flipping amazing to me! Don't be surprised if rents rise in the 3rd quarter.