The Long Way Home State leaders, communities search for solutions

BY MICHAEL DE YOANNA MICHAEL@COLORADOCOMMUNITYMEDIA.COM

For a month, our reporters and editors brought you stories of your neighbors, your wouldbe neighbors and even people who struggle to survive under bridges. We are all a ected by the rising costs of housing across the Denver area.

e problem is clear: Prices for homes and rents have skyrocketed in recent years. And though the trend shows signs of leveling out, prices are nothing like they were just a few years ago. Jumps in values of hundreds of thousands of dollars were common in the past ve years. For instance, in Brighton, northeast of Denver, and in Littleton, to the south, home values rose $225,000-$300,000, respectively, between 2017 and 2022. Renters are also giving more of their paychecks to their landlords.

Experts at Denver-based Root Policy Research, which studies housing issues, say 700,000 Colorado families are “cost burdened.” e term describes households that devote 30% or more of their income to rent or mortgages. Alarmingly, even families earning as much as $75,000 can be considered burdened.

is week, we look at potential solutions, starting with some