Denver ranks 10th in a new study that looks at what $200,000 would buy in square footage in the nation’s top 32 metropolitan areas.
For that amount of money, a buyer can only get 661 square feet of home in Denver, the smallest bang for the buck outside of California, Washington and big Eastern cities such as New York and Boston.
For $200,000, Cleveland’s housing market offered a palatial 3,769 square feet, while Memphis, Tenn., came in at 2,965 square feet. Some might says it’s better to rent a micro-apartment in Denver with a killer job and great craft brews than own a McMansion in a fading Midwestern city where Budweiser remains the king of beers.
But low housing prices don’t have to equate with economic stagnation. Texas is no slouch when it comes to population growth, job creation and economic vitality. For $200,000 in Houston, a buyer would receive 2,039 square feet. In San Antonio, that amount buys a home with 3,249 square feet, and in Dallas, it buys 1,824 square feet. Even Austin, considered a rival with Denver for tech jobs, a buyer at $200,000 gets more than double the amount of space: 1,341 square feet.
Related Articles
-
Gentrification concerns and troubles with Denver’s homebuyer assistance program spur new discussions about affordable housing
-
Vise tightens on Airbnb, other metro-Denver rentals, as Golden OKs limits and Lakewood and Wheat Ridge weigh following suit
-
Union Station for under $300,000: Income-restricted Denver condos going on sale at Coloradan building
-
Wealthy out-of-town buyers push up Boulder home prices
-
Going, going, gone — new homes for under $300,000 effectively disappear from metro Denver
Lower home prices in Texas, in part, reflect the state’s heavier reliance on property taxes, which cap how much people can afford. Development regulations tend to be looser, and water-tap costs are lower.
But the short answer is that builders in Denver haven’t been able to provide enough homes to meet demand and keep price increases in check, at least to the same degree that builders in Texas have.
Between 2003 and 2007, metro Denver builders started an average of 16,602 for-sale homes a year, according to Metrostudy. Between 2013, when prices started rising, and 2017, they have averaged only 8,936 a year, despite buyers literally begging for more entry-level homes.
