A house in El Paso County under $200,000 is getting harder to find — at least according to new data the U.S. Census Bureau released today.

The median value of local homes has increased about 30 percent in the past five years, from $147,100 in 2000 to $191,200 in 2005, the American Community Survey reports. Nationwide, median home values increased by 32 percent.

But these and other housing numbers in the survey carry a big qualifier. The annual American Community Survey is not like the U.S. Census survey that compiles information gathered by census takers. The 2005 American Community Survey results were based on responses from 4,800 El Paso County residents who are required by law to fill in the mailed questionnaire.

Residents determine the value of their homes and answers to other questions that in this go around included housing characteristics such as heating fuel source, occupancy and mortgage status.

“They’re taking self-reported values of homes, not actual transaction values, so there is some question about how valid the numbers are, especially when you’re trying to make major conclusions," said Dave Bamberger, economic consultant with David Bamberger & Associates.

Still, he said, the numbers point to a housing trend that’s been developing over time.

“Affordable housing is going away, there’s no doubt about that. It’s almost impossible to find an entry-level, single-family detached home for under $200,000,” Bamberger said. “What we’re seeing is a switch to townhomes and condominiums.”

A shrinking inventory of cheaper homes isn’t a surprise to some groups that work to help buyers put a roof over their heads.

“We find more and more people who can’t qualify for a traditional home,” said Paul Johnson, executive director for Pikes Peak Habitat for Humanity.

Costs of building materials and land have soared, making it difficult for some families to find a home.

“Affordable homes are disappearing,” Johnson said. “The entry-level homes for people who are not making a lot of money are being priced out of their ability to pay.”

But that doesn’t mean houses are beyond the affordability of buyers, said Fred Crowley, senior economist with the Southern Colorado Economic Forum and professor at the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs.

“During that same period, 2000 to 2005, interest rates dropped 30.3 percent, so your income now buys more principal and less interest,” he said. "Houses are also going up in value; it isn’t that affordable houses are being removed from the market.”

The inventory of houses worth between $50,000 and $99,999 has dropped by more than half since 2000, to 5,847, while homes valued between $100,000 to $149,000 are down by about one-third, to 27,372.

Affordability is based on several factors, Crowley said, including mortgage rates, income levels and down payments.

“So while the price of housing may have gone up, people may be better able to afford them,” he said.

The county’s median household income rose by 8.3 percent, or $3,870, since 2000, from $46,844 to $50,714, according to the Census Bureau. And per capita income increased 13 percent.

Affordability is a challenge for many homebuyers such as Sheila Wells, an environmental engineer, and her boyfriend, Brian Rygwelski, an electrical engineer.

Rygwelski works in Pueblo, while Wells’ job takes her to southeast Denver. To split their commutes, they’ve looked for a home on Colorado Springs’ southwest side and hope to find one in a mature neighborhood with trees and landscaping.

Their price range initially was $150,000 to $250,000. They decided the higher end might strap their budget, while there wasn’t anything they found at the lower end.

When they fixed their sights around $200,000 and went house hunting last weekend, they found one they liked and hope to make an offer.

“There were 31 or 34 houses for sale in that one small area,” Wells said of an area southeast of Cheyenne Meadows Road and Colorado Highway 115. “I’ve been looking at houses since May. In the past, they were gone in a day. But I think we found some decent homes in the high $100,000s.”

Renters also are seeing higher prices, an increase of nearly $100 a month from 2000 to 2005, to a median monthly payment of $744. More than one-third of the area’s 75,000 renters spent 35 percent or more of their monthly income on rent. Crowley said the standard is that no more than 28 percent of income should be spent on rent or a mortgage payment.

On the other end of the spectrum, the number of homeowners reporting their abode is now worth more than a million dollars has quadrupled from 230 in 2000 to 923 in 2005.

OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

Million dollar babies:

The number of million dollar homes in the area has quadrupled, from 230 in 2000 to 923 in 2005.

Here comes the sun:

514 homes used solar energy as a heating source, more than three times as many in 2000; 1,277 homes used wood, nearly double from five years earlier.

Cell phone power:

About 15,700 homes had no phone service last year, up more than six times the 2,300 homes in 2000.

More renter woes:

More than one-third of the area’s nearly 75,000 renters spent 35 percent or more of their monthly household income on rent.

Not any larger:

Homes had a median of 5.9 rooms, unchanged from 2000.

Crowded driveways:

90,799 homes had two vehicles, compared with 82,530 in 2000; 45,475 homes

had three or more vehicles, up from 38,793 five years earlier.

Renters feeling the pinch:

The median monthly rent has gone up nearly $100, from $657 in 2000 to last year’s $744.

Upward mobility:

Median household income was $50,714 last year, up 8.3 percent from 2000’s $46,844.

More homes:

148,360 single-family, detached homes, an increase of about 19,000 from five years earlier.

More costly:

Median-home values were $191,200, up about 30 percent from $147,100 in 2000.


By DEBBIE KELLEY and RICH LADEN THE GAZETTE