It is crazy to think that Denver’s minimum wage far exceeds ski towns and will increase yet again in 2027. Why is Denver’s minimum wage 26% higher than Steamboat Springs? What impact does a sky-high minimum wage have on businesses, employment, and real estate prices?...
In Colorado there seems to be a pervasive theory that the entire state should focus on a few outliers even if it means higher taxes and costs for everyone else and there is no longer a pragmatic approach to anything in Colorado. A recent example is a Colorado Supreme...
Throughout the state of Colorado property owners are paying substantially more in taxes than they should due to one fundamental flaw in the assessment. Here is a recent example: I was asked to evaluate a property in CO springs for a loan. The purchase price...
Colorado is losing businesses and jobs at an alarming rate. The Colorado Chamber of Commerce has been sounding an alarm for years about excessive regulation and last year more people moved out of Colorado than into the state. Not only are people leaving but...
Home values in Denver are falling faster than any other major metro area tracked by a key index, earning the Mile High City a dubious distinction as the weakest housing market in the nation. From the chart above it looks like Denver is in a free fall compared...
I’m amazed that there hasn’t been a bigger emphasis on the financial cliffs that most major cities will soon face. Most cities are heavily funded by property taxes and most importantly commercial property taxes. How will cities fund their budgets that...
Colorado has continued pushing for statewide zoning in the last several legislative sessions. The new proposal, House Bill 26-114 would radically alter every community in Colorado. The new bill mandates 2k foot min lot sizes statewide (no exceptions for any cities)....
As part of an ordinance passed by Denver City Council in 2019 to get the city’s lowest earners to a better wage and then link annual pay raises to the Consumer Price Index starting in 2023, Denver’s min wage has jumped 70% in the last 6 years. This has put Denver in...
Our legislature recently enacted a new law that will impact large property owners starting this year. Who is impacted by the “Decarbonization law” Who will be paying millions for building upgrades (hint not the government)? Who will be on the hook for fines up to...
I’m amazed at the creativity in Denver to tax property owners more. The recent proposal is a “ghost tax” on select rental properties throughout Denver County. This ghost tax could be a game changer for the rental industry in Denver. What is in the new...
Can Denver’s fall in housing prices off its peak be contributed to politics? How does Denver stack up to other cities with different politics? Are Denver’s current woes a blip or a trend? Where do prices head from here? Take a look at the chart above, what is...
How can property taxes jump 40% since 2023 when values are basically flat in most areas? Is there anything you can do about it? In 2022, with property values and in turn taxes surging, the Colorado governor signed a grand bargain to save on property taxes in...
Denver has a 1.5 billion dollar plus problem as office values in a free fall. This puts Denver in one of the top three worst office markets in the entire country. Ready for a huge rise in your property taxes? Why is Denver suddenly moving from hot to not? What...
Denver county approved hundreds of millions of dollars in new taxes for hospitals, schools, and everything in between, but they voted down an affordable housing bill in the November election. Along the same lines, Steamboat also recently voted down an affordable...
Denver has finally released their sidewalk fee schedule that voters had approved two years ago. The new fee schedule will have huge consequences for property owners around Denver with some getting new fees of 2400+/ year. What is the sidewalk fee? How is this...
No doubt the presidential election was the most talked about in history, but the huge changes in Colorado are even more profound and will have major impacts on your daily life and wallet. What initiatives do you need to know about that will impact your wallet and...
It has been quite the session with a ton of bills that have huge ramifications for property owners throughout Colorado. The proposals ranged from increasing taxes on nightly rentals, evictions protections, habitability, right of first refusal and various others. The...
Once again, as the legislature returns, the first order of business is housing and a recent bill “just cause for eviction” just passed that will rock the real estate industry. The recent proposal seems innocuous: “just cause for eviction” and yet hidden in the depths...
The Colorado legislature is out of control with their housing bills. The newest bill: “Real Property owner unit association collections” will drastically increase HOA fees for every property owner and likely could bankrupt many homeowner associations. What is in this...
Every time I open the news, I’m amazed at what is happening in the Colorado legislature. As a rental property owner, I cringe as it is becoming next to impossible to cost effectively operate a rental property. The new bill is titled “safe housing”. Who...
New vacant building tax immediately implemented Lakewood, CO just implemented the first vacant building tax I have seen in Colorado. It seems a bit counterintuitive to put more taxes on a property owner that is already struggling with vacancy. Why did Lakewood...
Get ready for sticker shock as you open the mail and get your tax bill. As values soften throughout the state, why are your property taxes going up? How can assessed values continue to increase even though property values are softening? Why will your taxes likely...
The legislature passed a little known bill to allow property owners to defer their property taxes above 4% increase starting in 2023. To get the message out, they sent out the flier above that I received this week. On the surface, this sounds like an amazing plan. ...
Of U.S. cities with more than half a million residents, only Denver’s overall violent crime (including aggravated assault, sex assault, robbery and homicide) has risen by more than 90% between 2012 and 2022, according to FBI data. What does the surge in crime mean...
