The Decline of Condominium Construction in Colorado: Addressing Litigation Reform to Alleviate the Housing Affordability Crisis
The disappearance of condominiums in Colorado embodies the state’s housing affordability challenges. Be it because of restrictive zoning regulations that hinder developers’ ability to deliver denser housing products or anti-growth sentiment commonly referred to as “NIMBYism,” we simply can’t seem to figure out how to deliver the types of housing Coloradans desire at the price points they can afford.
Over the past fifteen years, Colorado condominium construction has experienced a severe decline. Condominium development between 2018 and 2022, across 11 front range counties which collectively house over 80% of Colorado’s population, was 76% lower than between 2002 and 2008. This amounted to 14 new apartments for every 1 new condo in recent years, compared to 1 new condo for every 1.25 apartments in the 6 years prior to 2009. Concurrently, Colorado cities have struggled to facilitate a regulatory environment that correlates into an adequate supply of all housing types to meet population growth. From 2008 to 2019, Colorado grew by an annual average of 77,731 new residents but built only 25,682 new homes per year.[i] The overall stagnation of housing development which began at the onset of the Great Recession has manifested into a Colorado housing market that is affordable to only the highest of income earners.