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Tag: Housing affordability

Denver Opens Door To Energy Code Changes That Could Reach Single Family Homes
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The Denver Gazette, Approved, Local

Denver Opens Door To Energy Code Changes That Could Reach Single Family Homes

By Scott Weiser | The Denver Gazette Denver launched a public process on Feb. 26 to update its energy code for new and renovated small buildings, including single-family homes and duplexes, that would extend efficiency and electrification-readiness standards that began with energy compliance goals for large commercial and multifamily buildings in 2023. Denver’s 2021 Energize Denver ordinance required energy benchmarking and reductions for structures with 25,000 square feet or more. As early as 2022, builders predicted the rules would raise housing costs and eventually reach single-family homes and duplexes. In 2023, Laura Schwartz, spokesperson for Denver Community Planning and Development, told The Denver Gazette that “residential single-family homeowners ...
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Colorado’s Economy Loses Its Edge as Costs and Regulations Rise
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Colorado Politics, Approved, State

Colorado’s Economy Loses Its Edge as Costs and Regulations Rise

By: Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics Editor’s Note: Once among the nation’s fastest-growing economies, Colorado today confronts mounting challenges that threaten its momentum. This series reveals how a state once defined by prosperity is navigating economic cliffs and ridges. We explore the impact of increased regulations, tariffs, shifting tax policies, the high cost of living and widening urban–rural divides have on businesses, workers, and communities. The series also highlights the push to leverage Colorado’s outdoor economy — one of its most valuable assets — for renewed growth, while working to attract industries like quantum and aerospace while capitalizing on unique industries that call Colorado home. After taking office seven years ago, Gov. Jared Polis set an imm...
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Coloradans Priced Out of Housing as Costs Outpace Earnings
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State, Approved, kdvr.com

Coloradans Priced Out of Housing as Costs Outpace Earnings

By Spencer Kristensen | KDVR Fox 31 DENVER (KDVR) — A report from the Common Sense Institute, a conservative-leaning research organization, revealed that the majority of Colorado residents are being priced out of the opportunity of owning a home. The report called “Colorado’s Housing Affordability Mismatch” was created by CSI’s Chief Economist Steven Byers and states that it analyzes the growing disparity between what Coloradans can afford and what’s actually available in the housing market. The report listed several findings, including: 60% of households in Colorado cannot afford the average home in the state, which is an increase from the 2010 figure of 47% 40% of households can only afford homes under $300,000, which accounts for only 15% of the houses statewide Color...
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Kerber: How Colorado’s density push is an attack on the single-family home
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The Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

Kerber: How Colorado’s density push is an attack on the single-family home

By Dave Kerber | Commentary, The Gazette Our neighborhoods and communities are faced with a challenge to the very character of the place we have chosen to live. We live in a unique and astonishing place. People flock to Colorado because of our blue skies, fresh air and mountains. Coloradans have no desire to be New York City. These are two distinct and very different lifestyle choices. Yet, those in charge of Colorado at the moment want to bring that New York density here to Colorado — to change forever what makes Colorado such an incredible place to live and work. As a species, we have always wanted to live and work in larger spaces. It’s human nature. Two hundred years ago, it was common for families to live in a one-room cabin. One hundred years ago, it was normal to have 2-3 peop...
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Gaines: Net migration math doesn’t lie—Denver’s policies aren’t working
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Colorado Accountability Project, Approved, Commentary, Local

Gaines: Net migration math doesn’t lie—Denver’s policies aren’t working

By Cory Gaines | Commentary, Colorado Accountability Project Small wonder on Denver's Net Migration A recent report by the conservative-leaning Common Sense Institute (see the CPR article linked first below), has it that Denver's net migration -- inflow take away outflow -- has fallen over 50% in the last decade.Keep in mind that the net migration is still positive, more people are coming than leaving, but we have a decrease in the increase. Quoting the article (with link left intact): "The state's population growth has declined by nearly 53% in the past 10 years, according to a new report released by the Common Sense Institute, a non-partisan research organization. The study measured net migration, which is the difference between people moving into the state and peo...
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Trump Floats Tax-Free Home Sales to Unleash Real Estate Revival
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National, Approved, Newsmax

Trump Floats Tax-Free Home Sales to Unleash Real Estate Revival

By Brian Freeman | NEWSMAX President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration is thinking about adopting a policy to eliminate capital gains taxes on the sale of a house. Speaking at the Oval Office, Trump was asked about the importance of having "no tax on home sales capital gains to unleash the housing market." Trump responded, "We are thinking about that. But it would also unleash it just by lowering the interest rates. If the Fed would lower the rates, we wouldn't even have to do that. But we are thinking of no tax on capital gains on houses." Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., posted on X a video of Trump's statement and thanked him "for supporting my No Tax on Home Sales Act." READ THE FULL ARTICLE AT NEWSMAX
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Colorado’s Housing Crisis: Not Enough Homes Fuels Third-Highest Rent in America
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State, Approved, denvergazette.com

Colorado’s Housing Crisis: Not Enough Homes Fuels Third-Highest Rent in America

By Marissa Ventrelli | The Denver Gazette Colorado had the third highest rent and fifth highest home prices in 2023, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis from a zoning group. Compiled by a group called National Zoning Atlas, the analysis examined zoning codes in all 334 of Colorado's jurisdictions to assess how zoning affects housing affordability in the state. Of those 334 jurisdictions, 275 have zoning codes — but not all are openly available to the public, the analysis said. "Affordable" housing has been a top priority of Gov. Jared Polis since he was first elected in 2019, a goal shared by policymakers, though they often sharpy differ how to achieve that aim. Some push for greater density as a solution to many of the state's urban problems. In Denver, that reason...
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$440/month? Colorado homeowners crushed by soaring insurance bills
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CBS Colorado, Approved, State

$440/month? Colorado homeowners crushed by soaring insurance bills

By Sarah Horbacewicz | CBS Colorado Homeowners insurance is getting more expensive, and in a high-risk state for hail and wildfires, some Coloradans are feeling the financial pinch. Rocky Mountain Insurance Association says Colorado ranks second in the nation for hail insurance claims and ranks second for the number of homes in high-risk wildfire areas. Colorado also has the sixth-highest homeowners insurance premiums.  In the 25 years she's lived in Broomfield, Melinda Endres says she's never seen a bill like this June's mortgage. "I thought it was a mistake. I thought, are you kidding?" Endres said, "We get this letter saying that it's going to increase to over $2,000 now, and that's more than $300 a month." So Melinda said she called her broker, and they told her tha...
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Hancock: The future of Colorado hangs between boom and blackout
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Approved, Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Substack, Top Stories

Hancock: The future of Colorado hangs between boom and blackout

By Michael A. Hancock | Commentary, Substack There's a difference between dreaming big and hallucinating. Colorado's progressive legislators have yet to figure that out. Once a beacon of frontier grit and entrepreneurial promise, Colorado is drifting into a twilight of self-imposed stagnation. This isn't the result of some unforeseeable external shock. No. The decline is being engineered — brick by legislative brick — by a political class more interested in social signaling than in fostering economic vitality. The question isn't whether Colorado faces a reckoning. The question is whether we will admit the cause before we hit the wall. Let's start with energy, the lifeblood of any serious economy. Colorado holds a wealth of natural resources—oil, gas, coal, and uranium— all of ...
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Colorado’s gray wave drives up costs, exposes policy gaps
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Approved, State, The Colorado Sun

Colorado’s gray wave drives up costs, exposes policy gaps

By Thelma Grimes | Colorado Politics “The only reality in the world is that we are going to get older and we’re going to die.” Nobody can escape that reality, according to Christian Itin, a member of the Colorado Strategic Action Group on Aging. “I think we need to remind folks that this will happen to me,” he said. “It will happen to you. It’ll happen to your family. We can’t put our heads in the sand and hide from that reality.” In Colorado, the older population is growing fast, with ramifications for the major challenges the state already faces, notably housing, healthcare costs and workforce needs. It also affects student enrollment, which, in turn, means a direct impact on school financing.  Many have sounded the alarm over Colorado's graying population, saying thi...
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