Housing News Digest, June 16

Study: too few rentals for low-income families
Colorado has a shortage of affordable rental housing with nearly twice as many low-income families for the number of units available, a state analysis shows.

And the places where the burden on families is highest — where low-cost housing is least available — are Boulder and the Fort Collins-Loveland area, according to the Division of Housing at the Colorado Department of Local Affairs.

Affordable housing getting harder to find
DENVER - A report by the Colorado Department of Local Affairs' Division of Housing shows a widening gap between the number of households with the lowest incomes and the availability of affordable rental units in the state.

Colorado foreclosure filings down sharply from 2010, says RealtyTrac
Colorado still ranks among the top 10 states in the nation in terms of foreclosure rates, but the state’s filings in May dropped 4 percent from April and 13.5 percent from May 2010, according to a report Thursday from RealtyTrac Inc.

ULC buys TOD site
The nonprofit Urban Land Conservancy announced today that it paid almost $1.2 million for about an acre of land along Denver’s FasTracks Southwest light rail corridor that will be developed into an affordable, mixed-use transit oriented development.

This is the fourth property ULC has acquired using Denver’s Transit-Oriented Development Fund. The parcel will provide workforce housing and retail opportunities directly across from the Evans Light Rail Station.

Affordable housing shortage in state
At all income levels, there were approximately 282,200 rent burdened households in Colorado, which is equal to 47 percent of all renter households. 51 percent of all rent burdened households are at income levels below $20,000 per year.