Rocky Mountain Voice

Tag: Housing Supply

New Study Finds Government Taxes and Fees Add Tens Of Thousands To Colorado Home Prices
The Denver Gazette, Approved, Commentary, State

New Study Finds Government Taxes and Fees Add Tens Of Thousands To Colorado Home Prices

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 ...
Frozen in place: How a 1997 tax law may be trapping Colorado’s senior homeowners
Rocky Mountain Voice, State, Top Stories

Frozen in place: How a 1997 tax law may be trapping Colorado’s senior homeowners

By Shaina Cole | Contributing Writer, Rocky Mountain Voice A Centennial resident wrote to RMV earlier this year with a frustration he suspects many of his neighbors share — one shaped by decades spent in the same home. He has watched its value climb far beyond anything he imagined when he bought it. And now, as he weighs whether to downsize, he finds himself facing a tax bill on that appreciation — one shaped by a federal law whose core thresholds haven’t been updated in nearly 30 years. "This realized gain could be used for moving into a more manageable home, pay for necessary home care if needed, help pay for insurance, medical, dental, medicine expenses and keep their quality of life," he wrote. His concern is not an isolated one. It reflects a structural problem — one incr...
The ROAD to Housing scarcity: Hidden provision in Senate housing bill may kill build-to-rent
Rocky Mountain Voice, Commentary, National, Top Stories

The ROAD to Housing scarcity: Hidden provision in Senate housing bill may kill build-to-rent

By Booker Lightman | Guest Commentary, Rocky Mountain Voice How a Senate bill to increase construction will do the opposite You may have heard about a bipartisan omnibus bill currently being debated in the U.S. Senate, called the ROAD to Housing Act. From the name, you might think it’s about promoting housing construction, and that’s indeed how it’s being sold in the media.  Yet a provision recently added to the bill, which forces build-to-rent companies to sell their homes within seven years, would cripple housing production and drive up housing costs for everyone. Why is the forced sale provision bad?  The seven-year deadline would incentivize builders to prioritize speed over quality and hide defects rather than take the time to fix them. It would...