Buying real estate is one of the smartest investments that we can make and is a critical step to growing our wealth. But, for low/middle-income earners earning less than $130,000 a year, affordability in Colorado is a major obstacle.

According to the Bell Policy Center, Colorado is the ninth least affordable state in the U.S. (or the 41st most affordable - wink). Furthermore, the state needs roughly 500,000 more housing units by 2030 to return our market to a healthy state. Everybody wants to live here and there simply are not enough homes.

“Despite the high demand for housing, this supply deficit pushes first-time buyers out of the market. Over the last 12 months, only 28 percent of home sales went to first-time buyers, a six-year low. This trend seen nationally can keep prospective home buyers in the rental market, placing even greater pressure on rental prices. Keeping wouldbe first-time buyers in the rental markets quells wealth accumulation as homeowners’ incomes are on average 82 percent higher than renters’” (Bell Policy Center, July 2022).

If you’re like me, you LOVE where you live and want to stay here forever. I REFUSE to leave and I REFUSE to give up on the idea of owning my own home! [Tantrum].

The way I see it, there are 13 options.

1) Keep renting until we die.

2) Inherit money or a home from somebody who has died.

3) Live with/mooch off our parents forever.

4) Continuously occupy an abandoned property for 18 years uninterrupted, resulting in adverse possession (squatting).

5) Marry somebody with money and make them very happy.

6) Make more money from a new full-time job.

7) Win the lottery and buy a house.

8) Live in a van and make money from a successful online job.

9) Move to a more affordable area leaving behind close friends, cherished businesses, and familiar geography.

10) Purchase a small piece of land that allows residential uses and build your own home.

11) Purchase a small piece of land and put a tiny home on it (if County zoning allows it).

12) Purchase a home with other people that you think you could tolerate long enough for you each to see a return on your mutual investment.

13) Talk to a financial advisor and/ or mortgage broker and start planning for the future with optimism.

Hilarity aside, the last option takes the cake. Boulder County offers free remote financial coaching sessions where you can discuss your situation and get guidance on how to proceed. Additionally, good mortgage professionals will do the same. Chances are that improving your credit, reducing debt, and increasing savings are some of the tasks you will be advised to start working on now to position yourself to buy in the next three - five years. So keep your head up and start thinking about eventually investing in Colorado Real Estate!

For a personal finance coaching session go to: https://bouldercounty. gov/ families/housing/ personal-finance-coaching/.

Emma Quarterman can be reached at 303-506-5218 or by email at emma@livewestrealty.com. Checkout her website at emmaskycolorado.com/.