The city of Boulder wants to bring in more middle-income housing into the area.
The city conducted a housing survey which shows the few sales options for households earning a total income of $68,000 to $138,000 a year.
According to the study, the average 2 bedroom, 900+ square feet home was sold for $700,000 in 2015.
Detached homes in Central Denver sold for $1.2 million that same year.
The average rent ranges from $1,500-1,800 a month.
“What’s happening in Boulder and many communities across the U.S. is we’re either getting a single family detached or parking building but not a whole lot in between,” said Jay Sugnet, senior planner for the city of Boulder.
Members of the city council will review the study later this month and discuss possible options, like purchasing middle-income apartments to sell, annexing land specifically for middle-income housing, or requiring developers to include middle-income units as the city requires some to do with low-income housing.
“It saddens me that that at this point a first responder, a school teacher all the service people can’t live in the town where they work,” said Tom Kahn, a broker in Boulder.
He said Boulder is getting second and third home buyers, which helps drive the prices up for homes. However, he understands the need to bring in more options.
“I don’t think it’s too late but we better get going,” he said.
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