Tape this article right next to your watercooler or wherever you most engage in small talk. In the perilous two minutes that it takes to microwave your burrito, you can spice up your idle chit-chat with these carefully curated figures that explain the state of Denver real estate.
$19.83
That's how much you need to earn per hour to afford a $1,031 one-bedroom apartment, according to a report from the National Low Income Housing Coalition. Technically, the average Denver renter can't afford that with their $19.41 hourly wage.
And that's assuming this renter can even find a one-bedroom priced at fair market rent. (I know mine isn't.) Denver is more unaffordable than Boulder in terms of expense to renters, according to this annual report.
27.3 percent
On the other hand, Denver homeowners seem to have a more affordable arrangement, according to research from Zillow. A homeowner earning median income in Denver would pay only 27.3 percent of their income to own a median-priced home purchased the first quarter of 2017.
Reminder that "afford" here means not paying more than a third of your earnings for housing. Lots of people pay more than that, but the federal government considers them cost-burdened.
10 parcels
Back in 2015, Denver embarked on a $1.1 billion project to overhaul the National Western Center. Now, the city needs to acquire just 10 properties for the project,and it's very serious about getting all of them.
They've started the eminent domain process on five of them. Residents could see demolition begin as early as this fall, so catch up on the whole saga.
23 days
The average Denver home for sale only spent 23 days on the market during May, according to RE/MAX's analysis of MLS data. That made our metro the fourth fastest place to sell. For reference, RE/MAX found that the national average was 51 days.
According to Redfin, many homes sell even faster than 23 days. Data on their platform actually shows Denver as the fastest place to sell a home during May. They said that nearly half of all homes were pending sale in just six days.
8th place
In 2016, Colorado issued the eighth most residential building permits, according to U.S. Census Bureau data. Over half of those permits were for single-family homes. But apartment buildings were the second most popular type of building, representing 43 percent of all permits in 2016.
Oh, and in case you needed fuel for your regional rivalry file: Texas had the most residential building permits issued last year.
3 percent
If your Denver home faces a busy street, expect to lose about 3 percent of its value, according to an analysis from Your Castle Real Estate. During the Great Recession, the local discount was double that, or six percent.
