I live in Denver, Colorado a beautiful town with a view of gorgeous mountains in the distance. People here are known for their easy-going approach to life, love of fitness, and embracing innovation.
You may know some of our products: Quiznos, Chipotle, Izze, Justin’s Dark Chocolate cups, Smashburger, and Crocs. We have a love of craft beer, live music, and sports. Denver has become one of the most attractive cities to live in the United States and our real estate costs is starting show the price of that love
Recently, the Denver Post has highlighted the increasing cost of housing in Denver and how it is tops in the nation in terms of rising prices. You can go to Google to find posts referencing the increasing cost of housing in Denver.
For the purpose of this post I will focus specifically on the CBD, LOHI, RiNO, Cap Hill (Capitol Hill), Wash Park (Washington Park) and the Golden Triangle. These would be the areas that a lot of new arrivals would try to move into. All of these areas are close to Downtown, public transit accessible, have grocery stores, restaurants, and fun places to go and hang out in.
$0-$250,000
11th and Logan-Studio (The unit is a STUDIO inside this lovely house )
*Picture off of Google*
The location is basically in the Capitol Hill area which is within walking distance to the State Capitol, Denver Art Museum, a Corepower yoga (Colorado Company) studio, and the City and County Building. It’s a great location because it’s basically downtown Denver. I will say that it surprised me that I had a hard-time finding anything decent under $100,000. Also note: this is a studio charming and quaint with wooden floors.
$345,000
*I actually know who owns this property*
*Picture off of Google*
Glass House Denver is located right in the heart of downtown Denver. It is a lovely study of glass, high ceilings, open floor plans, a swimming pool, and a coffee service. I had never really thought about the cost to live there but I have to admit it was a little more than I thought it would be.
However, if you consider that you are within walking distance of the Union Station transit hub, downtown Denver, Coors Field (baseball), Pepsi Center (Basketball, Hockey, and Concerts), AND Invesco Field (Denver Broncos) it feels like it’s worth it. Also, it’s a secured building and once the lightrail begins running between the Union Station and Denver International Airport, you would be able to walk over to the light rail and go directly to the airport. There is also a park, REI, and an amusement park nearby. Nice.
$500,000
*Picture off of Google*
Exterior-Pic off of Google
I couldn’t do a post about real estate without including one of the gorgeous loft options located in downtown Denver. Please note: This property also has access to all of the amenities mentioned in the previous listing. I cannot get enough of the exposed brick, the wood, the vaulted ceilings, and the location. I would buy this property in a heartbeat. Will keep you posted.
$1,000,000
This subtle beauty of a home is located in the Washington Park area of Denver. Washington Park is one of the largest parks in Denver, home to a ton of 5k races including the Turkey Trot. The park has two lovely lakes and is overrun by hot people of all ages, dogs, and kids doing all sorts of activities all year long. It’s also a 10-15 minute drive to downtown Denver, close to the Cherry Creek Shopping District, a country club, and is public transit accessible.
People really love living in this area and it’s home to first time parents in their thirties through grandparents. Interestingly, even though not a lot of people in their 20’s live in this area, they use the park like they do! Washington Park is also within walking distance of the South Broadway area that has a ton of fantastic restaurants, hipsters, places to shop, and a cool historic movie theater.
This is popular poster that people buy showing the neighborhoods of Denver.
The picture is off of Google Images.
One of the things that I find quite surprising is that people think it’s cheap to live in Denver. While it is cheaper than L.A., Seattle, San Francisco, or New York the prices have risen so quickly that affordable housing is becoming a faint memory. Whenever people talk about moving here I do caution them about the cost of living. I truly lucked out when I purchased my little place as I would be unable to rent in the location that I currently live in.
How do our prices compare to your hometown’s prices?
Were you surprised, or were the prices what you expected?
Here are some additional home comparisons from fabulous bloggers around the world!
CANADA
- Save. Spend. Splurge.: Montreal
- Urban Departures: Toronto
- Financial Diffraction: Halifax
- Money after Graduation: Calgary
U.S.A.
- Frugal Portland: Portland
- Broke and Beautiful: New York
- Michelle of Shop my Closet: Denver
- Paul of Don’t Quit your Day Job: Silicon Valley / South Bay Area
NEW ZEALAND
- NZ Muse: Auckland, NZ
Latest posts by Michelle (see all)
- How Work Policies Against Black Women Birthed a Love of the Soft Life - 20 March, 2024
- How Taylor Swift’s IP Victory Could Change the Business of Music - 28 February, 2024
- Why Don’t More Personal Finance Content Creators Talk About Policy - 16 January, 2024
Wow, that’s A LOT of house for a reasonable amount of money in a great city. Maybe I should move 😉
Umm, Stefanie-it’s actually a STUDIO inside the house 🙂 click on the link. It’s super cute though!
Damn that loft with the hardwood floors is gorgeous. For that amount, you could maybe get a crappy one bed condo in the area I live…and I mean crappy.
Isn’t it weird how that works? The prices are ticking slowly up so if I do this post next year I’m sure it will cost more. Rents now are on par with L.A. There is now a very real concern about affordable housing in Denver (and the lack of it). Btw, I am hoping that there is a gorgeous downtown loft in my future.
Some gorgeous properties up there in Denver but they ain’t cheap. I didn’t know that Denver is pricey as you presented!
Most people don’t and then they move here and can’t afford to live here and it catches them off guard. Recently in The Denver Post it was noted that rental prices are at an all-time high. The average rental cost is around $1100-$1200 for one bedroom units in prime locations.
omg I’ll pay $345K for a glass house in downtown Denver!!! Our next-door neighbor’s unit sold for that amount and it’s a cramped 2 bedroom overlooking a parking lot!!
My friend would love you! She’s renting it out right now but if you ever change your mind let me know!
Wow I had no clue Denver was so expensive!
It is not cheap here. We have really seen a spike in living costs in the past 10 years. To put in perspective, my property bought 1 year before the Recession has appreciated every single year since I’ve owned it. It has doubled in price and it’s not going down anytime soon based on home costs in my neighborhood. I bought the smallest home in a great area!
I’m also surprised at the prices in Denver. I guess I just expect the big obvious cities to be so expensive, such as NYC, Toronto, etc. There are some great places there though.
I’ve read a lot of articles about housing affordability as a problem showing up around the world. Cities in the U.S. such as: San Diego/Austin/Portland/Denver/Minneapolis are on trajectories to being a lot less affordable. This is a huge problem in the long run. Where will people live?
I love the loft! Gorgeous. I didn’t think Denver was that expensive, either. My aunt has been looking to move to CO, but I think near Colorado Springs. I know she’s on a tight budget, so I guess that made me think CO was in the middle somewhere. I’m living in Charlotte, NC right now, which is super affordable for the time being, but it’s also growing pretty fast. It’ll be interesting to see how that impacts the real estate market.
There are parts outside of the CBD that are more affordable. However, Denver has aggressively built up the Downtown area and a TON of fun things are located Downtown. If you don’t live Downtown you want to move pretty close to it. Things have gotten surprisingly expensive here. My mom is always shocked by the changes! The area near Colorado Springs is pretty 🙂
I’ll be the odd one out and say everything here still seems cheap 😛
It is all relative!
So interesting. Housing is relatively inexpensive here in Dallas, but its on the rise. Our home has appreciated 13 percent in the past 2 years, which is crazy. Homes here are selling before they are listed and people are paying in cash.
We are also seeing a lot of international buyers coming in with cash. Still proving that Cash is King.
We’re on the same wavelength – that loft has some serious aesthetics. 2/2 1,600 doesn’t feel too cramped either – lots of houses around here sacrifice comfort in the common areas to do 4/2/1550 or so – silly.
The glass one too; very nice! Thanks for the comparisons!
I am absolutely in love with the Loft. I’ve been thinking about what my next property will be…we’ll see!
My old house was in Denver, but in the NE corner near the airport so nowhere near down town and in a not exactly desirable neighborhood (it isn’t even on your map). Even so, I bought it in 2009 and sold it for twice the purchase price this year. I was shocked, I knew the Denver market was making a good recovery but didn’t realize it was that good! Even the suburbs are getting expensive.
$246,000 recently bought me 1800 sq ft and over an acre of land, a much better deal than the listings you posted. This is in the mountains, away from people and among the trees 🙂
I can’t believe how much Denver/surrounding areas has appreciated. I realize that we are very fortunate but this is the result of many years of planning, and us taxpayers paying taxes to build large public works projects, etc. I am now wanting an acre of land near/around Breckenridge so I’m keeping my eyes open and my fingers crossed! Am jealous of your mountain abode.
I didn’t realize that Denver was so expensive. My company has a office there and I have friends in the City as well; so my husband and I daydream about moving to Denver for a more outdoorsy lifestyle, but looking at the housing costs, it’s not entirely a financially good move; you can get more in Denver than Toronto, but not that much more house.
The loft is gorgeous. It reminds me of the one I posted, though that was double the price 🙁
Denver is a great city-but we have put a lot of time and money into making it great. I feel quite proud because I remember how it was a hick town for a very long time. It has become pretty expensive and it’s common to hear people discuss the affordability of housing. This is an issue that we’re starting to see throughout the United States and politicians, etc. on both sides of the aisle should be very concerned. I want the loft too.
I want to do one of these for Chicago!
It’s actually a very similar priced market. But there is a ton of diversity in the neighborhoods. $200k could get you a 5bd home in the worst neighborhood in Chicago or a studio downtown in a high rise (not including condo fees).
Do it, do it!!! I will add it to the original list.