Realtors and economists agree that the housing market is expected to perform well in Boulder County in 2015. Single-family homes are expected to continue to be in high demand, driving prices upward. From an economic standpoint, and especially from the drubbing that many took during the Great Recession, that’s great news.
But how much a house costs — and what proportion of income people are spending on housing — varies widely throughout the county.
The Boulder Area Realtor Association provided the most recent data to the Community Foundation’s TRENDS report this week, providing a snapshot of median single-family home prices throughout the area. There are now two municipalities in Boulder County where the median prices are above a half-million dollars: Boulder and Louisville.
The median prices in 2014:
- Boulder: $685,000, up 8.5 percent from 2013
- Superior: $470,500, up 7 percent from 2013
- Louisville: $511,000, up 13 percent from 2013
- Lafayette: $407,334, up 7.5 percent from 2013
- Erie: $383,000, up 10 percent from 2013
- Longmont: $275,000, up 6 percent from 2013
How much people are spending on housing — on mortgages and rent — also varies throughout the county. But the costs can take a significant bite out of household incomes.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, about 30 percent of county households earning $75,000 or more spend less than 20 percent of that on housing. Less than 2 percent of households earning less than $35,000 spend less than 20 percent on housing. About 2.5 percent earning between $35,000 and $50,000 spend less than 20 percent on housing. And 4.8 percent of those making between $50,000 and $75,000 spend less than 20 percent on housing.
Housing prices and inventory are certainly driving population growth in some areas of the county more than others, notably Longmont and Erie. But as housing costs increase for both owner-occupied homes and rental units, the need to consider affordable housing around the county increases as well.
