COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KOAA) — Colorado Springs is grappling with a shortage of 27,000 homes, according to a recent regional market assessment.
The housing crisis is particularly impacting younger generations who are struggling to find affordable starter homes.
Local experts warn this shortage risks expanding what's called "the missing middle," a growing population of renters who remain unable to break into homeownership.
"Our younger generation, we're not building the starter homes that they need, the lower-priced, lower-priced smaller homes that we used to build," says Jill Gaebler, Executive Director of Pikes Peak Housing Network.
The market slowdown is evident in real estate activity. Local realtor John Harding has been trying to sell a house for weeks, a stark contrast to previous market conditions.
"A few years ago, this would have sold in one day. Now, its been a month, and we've only had one showing," Harding said.
Harding identifies three primary hesitations among potential homebuyers. The first barrier is affordability.
"They can't make a monthly payment, or they're not comfortable with that," Harding said.
The second obstacle involves commitment concerns.
"The fear of signing a 30-year loan on hundreds of thousands of dollars when they're not sure if they're going to have their job in a year's time," he adds.
The final factor relates to market uncertainty and conflicting information.
"There's so much turmoil that folks don't know whom to believe, what to believe, and because of that uncertainty, more so than even interest rates, folks are putting the pedal on, on the brakes right now," Harding said.
Harding tells me the market has many open homes, but there is very little demand due to pricing.
The housing outlook assessment draws data from state and federal sources, realtor associations, and online listings.
The analysis suggests the region needs 60,000 new homes by 2035, when El Paso County's population is expected to reach nearly one million people.
Meeting this demand would require doubling the current housing production pace. Gaebler is calling on local leadership to take action.
"We have our elected leadership, who is in charge of land use, and they should be modifying our land use code to ensure that we can build more houses," she said.
Proposed solutions extend beyond land use modifications to include low-interest loans, redevelopment initiatives, and rental assistance programs.
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