The Grand Junction real estate market has changed as more people from in and outside the area seek a balanced lifestyle that combines the charm of small town living with the convenience of urban amenities.

The trend indicates a shift from traditional single family homes to multifamily developments designed for modern life. Since Grand Junction lacked apartments and multifamily spaces, investors and developers have chased the chance to bring new products to market.

The biggest question remains, though: How much is too much?

In the late 1970s, Grand Junction experienced an oil shale boom. Multifamily units, mostly fourplexes, shot up across the Grand Valley. When the housing market crashed in 1982, multifamily building all but came to a standstill. A few larger units were built as the market improved in the early 2000s. A few more were built throughout the recovery from the 2008 crash. Overall, though, multifamily building remained below what a healthy market required.

This underbuilding trend began to change in 2019. The construction of the Copper Village Apartments followed by the Railyard at Rimrock kicked off a building frenzy of large-scale multifamily projects.

From January 2019 to June 2023, 1,510 multifamily planning clearances were issued in the Grand Junction city limits — roughly four times the number of clearances issued between 2014 and 2019. Building permits for multifamily construction with four or more units increased more than 300 percent between the first half of 2022 and first half 2023 and 86 percent from the first half of 2021. Planning clearances are issued by unit. Building permits are issued per building, making the need to evaluate both of them as a group necessary.

It’s estimated a total of about 900 units across eight large projects are under construction with another 100 units coming in smaller, four- to 20-unit projects.

It’s not just the units under construction influencing the market, but also the large number of planning projects and  rezones.

The pipeline of units going through the planning process tops 1,000, including the recently approved 164-unit project at the former sugar beet factory on Kimball Avenue in Grand Junction. These projects are headed by developers local and nonlocal, experienced and inexperienced all trying to take a piece of the hot multifamily market.

The appeal of renting has grown as many of the developments feature such amenities as gyms, swimming pools and communal spaces. These conveniences can provide renters with a higher quality of life at a fraction of the cost homeowners might incur to access similar facilities.

Copper Village Apartment features a clubhouse community garden, fitness center, garages and playgrounds. According to Bray Property Management, every new building that is constructed is 100 percent pre-leased, with many renters still on the waiting list. Copper Village Apartments is not an outlier. Most other complexes coming to market also are fully pre-leased.

The future will tell when Grand Junction hits the equilibrium between supply and demand of multifamily units. But with a pipeline filled with more than 2,000 units, that future soon could be here