The other states that rank in the top ten largest decreases in affordability are Montana, Idaho, Tennessee, California, Utah, Florida, South Dakota, Arizona, and Texas. Among Colorado regions, Steamboat had the largest decrease in home affordability since January 2009. Edwards, Fort Morgan, Canon City, and Pueblo rounded out the top five such cities. Boulder, on the other hand, had the smallest decrease in home affordability.
The Common Sense Institute created the Homebuyer Misery Index to identify the top ten regions in Colorado where affordability is declining the fastest. That list includes mountain towns like Steamboat Springs and Edwards and Eastern Plains, cities like Fort Morgan and Sterling, and towns from areas across the state, such as Pueblo in the south and Montrose in the west.
The Common Sense Institute says that lawmakers should incentivize the building of more multi-family apartments and more affordable housing projects in order to solve the housing shortage that has played a role in the decrease in housing affordability in Colorado.