With both home prices and rental rates on the rise in Colorado, it's important to weigh your options. We still love the info on this page, but for our newest advice go to westandmain.co.

young adults today are facing larger hurdles than older generations when it comes to housing. 

Based on our analysis, housing costs and labor market outcomes explain over half of the gap between the household formation rates of young adults in 2016 versus young adults in 2000.

Household formation is an important predictor of growth in the housing market. For example, when the economy was strong, young adults went on to form their own households, thereby increasing the demand for housing. However, during the recession many young adults moved back in with parents or doubled up with roommates shrinking the number of households and shrinking demand as well. To prepare for future housing demand, it is important that we track trends in household…

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A growing number of Americans who lost their homes to foreclosure or a short sale during the housing crisis are re-emerging in the housing market and buying a home again, USA Today reports. 

“Boomerang buyers,” as they’re nicknamed, are coming back, and some economists contend they are a critical component to driving a big uptick in the housing market over the next few years.

“I think the next phase of the housing recovery will be partly driven by people in the primary age group” of 35 to 64 who have been hesitant to buy again after losing their home during the housing crisis, Kwame Donaldson, an economist with Moody’s Analytics, told USA Today.

Lately, first-time home buyers and millennials have been driving the bulk of sales. First-time home…

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Metro Denver’s apartment market got off to a strong start this year, as tenants absorbed all the units that hit the market and then some, pushing up rents and driving down vacancies.

According to the Denver Post, Developers delivered a robust 3,959 new units in the first quarter and tenants absorbed an “impressive” 5,552 net units, according to the Denver Metro Apartment Vacancy and Rent from the University of Denver and the Apartment Association of Metro Denver.

That strong demand pushed the vacancy rate down to 5.4 percent from 5.8 percent in the fourth quarter. It also pushed the average rent up to $1,480.74 a month, which is $24.65 higher than the average in the fourth quarter and $60.44 higher a month than the average rent a year ago.

“I am…

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Nearly 60 percent of all spring home shoppers are considering a home that needs renovating.

As rising home prices and limited entry-level inventory continue to be a hurdle, according to realtor.com®’s spring home buyer survey,  just over half of home buyers considering a home that needs some TLC are willing to spend more than $20,000 on the renovation, while the vast majority – 95 percent of them – are optimistic they will get a positive return on their renovation investment.

Realtor.com® conducted the online survey through Toluna Research in March, consisting of 1,015 respondents planning to purchase a home in the next 12 months.

“The combination of rising home prices and limited entry-level homes for sale is prompting many home shoppers to…

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It turns out Americans weren’t ready to become a nation of renters. Homeownership is back in.

As reported by The Washington Post, new data indicate that in 2016, in defiance of myriad prognostications, the decade-long decline in the homeownership rate abruptly reversed. Once-rapid growth in renter households stalled, and the long-stagnant number of owner-led households began rising.

The most recent Housing Vacancies and Homeownership survey shows homeownership rates rose from a low of 63 percent in the second quarter of 2016 to 64.6 in the fourth quarter of 2018, adjusted for seasonality. This move reflects changes in the status of millions of households. The homeownership rate has regained all the…

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Rising rents are making it near impossible for renters to save for a down payment.

A new HotPads® analysis concluded that there is one way that young adults are trying to combat this change. Moving back in with Mom and Dad. 

HotPads, a rental search platform that is part of Zillow Group, found that the median home value is $225,300, meaning a 20 percent down payment is about $45,000. If a renter earning the median annual income saves 16.5 percent of their income after accounting for housing costs each month – the typical rate of savings for U.S. renters – they would have enough saved after eight years.

With the typical renter spending about 34 percent of their income on housing, one can see how moving in with parents makes sense. If a renter…

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While opponents of homeownership claim it's "the American nightmare," self-made millionaire David Bach is doubling down on his faith in real estate.

He thinks that not prioritizing homeownership is "the single biggest mistake millennials are making."

Buying a home is "an escalator to wealth," he tells CNBC.

Young adults in particular aren't hopping on this escalator, and it's a costly mistake, Bach warns: "If millennials don't buy a home, their chances of actually having any wealth in this country are little to none. The average homeowner to this day is 38 times wealthier than a renter."

The self-made millionaire is quick to say that the smartest investments he's ever made have been the three homes he's purchased. He tells CNBC: "I…

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If you’re in your 20's or early 30's and you’re looking to purchase a new home to live in, maybe you should consider turning your first home into an investment property.

While most people wait until after they’ve bought their first or second home to begin investing in real estate, you could probably start much sooner than you think. 

Many people, especially in the wake of the mortgage crisis, have found themselves wondering: “Is buying a house a good investment?” One way to ease your worries about whether buying a house will pay off is by renting out the first home you buy. By turning your home into an investment property, you can leverage your possibly less-than-perfect credit, less-than-perfect lifestyle and limited responsibilities into an…

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NAHB consumer preference data suggests that like prior generations, Gen-Xers and Millennials desire homeownership, and for a variety of reasons, townhomes fit the bill.

All those cranes that you see around Denver are also a common sight in cities across the country...and along with new apartment buildings, hotels, and other commercial construction...many of those projects are Luxury Condos aiming to accommodate homebuyers who want a single-family feel with better walkability. They are also looking for amenities like rooftop pools and decks, concierge services, and lock-and-leave ability to accommodate frequent travel.

According to Forbes:

“They want a suburban-type feel, but the one thing that may have changed, particularly for Millennials,…

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