By Peter Lifari | Commentary, The Denver Gazette
Colorado’s economic competitiveness is slipping, and housing affordability is one of the most important reasons why. Policymakers have more control over this than they might think.
A new report from the Common Sense Institute details tens of thousands of dollars in housing-construction costs created not by land or water scarcity, labor costs, materials costs, market conditions or interest rates — but by nothing more than policy.
Housing affordability is as much an economic development and competitiveness issue as it is a social one. That matters in a state tracking business establishment losses and domestic migration losses.
This is a relatively new development for Colorado. For years, the Centennial State could more or less sell itself on the combined effect of economic opportunity and lifestyle. Businesses could recruit talented employees from across the country, and those employees could reasonably expect livability.
What was true last decade is increasingly less true now.
Workers may be attracted to a job, but the offer becomes less appealing if buying a home requires moving far from the workplace, accepting a punishing commute or spending an outsized slice of income on housing. A growing company may like Colorado’s educated workforce and entrepreneurial culture, but those advantages are nullified if employees cannot afford to remain here.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT THE DENVER GAZETTE
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