Colorado housing: Small towns don't necessarily mean small home prices

Colorado’s small towns aren’t necessarily offering much relief from high housing costs.

A new study from LendingTree finds that several of Colorado’s micropolitan areas rank among the most expensive small housing markets in the country.

Five of Colorado’s ten micropolitan areas are in the top 50 nationally for highest home prices.

Breckenridge ranks fourth, with a median home price of about 748-thousand dollars. The home-price-to-income ratio there is 7-point-1, meaning homes cost more than seven times the median household income.

Steamboat Springs ranks seventh, with a median price of about 565-thousand dollars and an affordability ratio of 5-point-9.

But some of the biggest surprises are outside Colorado’s resort communities.

Montrose ranks 19th nationally, with a median home price of about 388-thousand dollars.

Fort Morgan ranks 30th, with a median home price of 339-thousand dollars and an affordability ratio of 4-point-6.

That puts Fort Morgan’s median home price at levels comparable to Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Cañon City ranks just behind Fort Morgan, with homes selling for a median of 324-thousand dollars and an affordability ratio of 5-point-2.

LendingTree says home prices alone don’t tell the whole affordability story. What matters is how those prices compare with what local households earn.

And while Colorado’s ski towns may be expected to have expensive housing, the numbers show that even agricultural and other traditionally lower-cost communities are feeling the pressure.

Durango, Alamosa, and Sterling did not make the top 50.