Rent

The Colorado Sun Editor Lance Benzel joined us to talk about a new bug swarming northwestern Colorado now that the moths are gone and a group of Denver renters who crashed a party for landlords with a protest.

Housing costs are rising fast in our region as economic development attracts new residents and supply chain problems cause building delays. But a federal program that helps low-income renters is falling short.

Real estate prices have reached new heights in many of our region's ski towns. In Jackson Hole, Wyoming, buyers spent a record $2 billion in the first nine months of 2021. Meanwhile, the number of homes on the market is at an all-time low. That's pricing out many long-time residents. The Mountain West News Bureau's Maggie Mullen reports.

A new report shows that rental prices are cooling off for the first time in several months. Apartment List, which is a national rental marketplace, found that rental prices have started to stagnate, or in some cases, even drop. That’s normal for the fall months, but especially welcome in a year that’s had unprecedented increases in rents across the Mountain West.

More than 17% of Coloradans are renters. According to an analysis from Headwaters Economics, a Montana-based, independent think tank, the largely unprecedented growth in housing costs over the last year has impacted renters more than homeowners. This is especially the case with housing unaffordability.

In anticipation of the federal eviction moratorium expiring or being struck down, Gov. Jared Polis passed an executive order last month that gives tenants an extra 20 days to make up missed rent payments. That order expires on Sept. 4, but could be extended if a “significant backlog” of rental assistance remains, a spokeswoman for Polis said.

Colorado has so far distributed more than $121 million in emergency rental assistance it received from various federal and state stimulus packages. But thousands of applications remain in limbo, according to data from the Department of Local Affairs.

Applications dropped from a high of 1,445 during the first week of April to 526 the last week of May, according to data from the Department of Local Affairs. The money is designed to help renters and landlords still dealing with the economic impacts of the pandemic.

The economic impacts of the pandemic have put a spotlight on housing instability, as Coloradans struggle to pay rent. A new program in Boulder aims to help tenants through housing instability by avoiding eviction.

Thousands of families across Northern Colorado, particularly Black and Latino residents, are struggling to pay rent because of the pandemic. In part one of 'On the Edge,' we look at the economic factors pushing people to ask for help.