Affordable Housing: The Locals Cost of Living
In a real estate market where property is in high demand and prices continue to rise, our local workforce faces significant challenges in achieving the dream of home ownership. Our tourism industry requires a large number of seasonal workers as well as full time permanent workers, many of whom want to establish roots in the communitya nd raise a family.
Our local workforce fills a diverse employment base of tourism-related industries in addition to ones that sustain tourism including retail, housing, utilities, public transportation, personal care, health, education, local government, finance, entertainment and social services.
The most common way our county keeps housing affordable is by creating deed restrictions. Deed restrictions limit how much a property appreciates and require that the property be the homebuyers primary residence, thus making them not available to second homeowners. All deed restrictions are different and can even vary from neighborhood to neighborhood within the county. Just a few of the restrictions included for Summit County are:
- A deed-restricted property must be the homeowner's primary residence at least 9 months of the year.
- At least one member of the household must work in Summit County at least 30 hours per week for a business that operates in and serves the county with the exception of individuals who are disabled or have reached the age of retirement.
- The total household income must be at or below the Area Median Income.
- Short-term rentals are not allowed.
Summit County has formed the Summit Combined Housing Authority (SCHA) to help meet local housing needs. They are an wonderful resource for assisting locals with home buyer education, down payment assistance and home rehabilitation loans. The Town of Breckenridge also manages a down payment assistant program for eligible town employees who are purchasing a home in the area.
If you are interested in purchasing a deed-restricted property in Summit County, the first step is approval by the SCHA through their application process. There are several affordable housing neighborhoods in Summit County: Upper Blue Basin (Breckenridge/Blue River), Lower Blue Basin (Silverthorne), Ten Mile Basin (Frisco/Copper Mountain), and Snake River Basin (Summit Cove, Dillon, Keystone). Most of these neighborhoods consist of a mix of housing types including small single-family homes, duplexes, triplexes, condominiums and townhomes. Parks and trails have been designed to meet the needs of local families and employees. Many of these neighborhoods are models for energy conservation and sustainable development practices. Any of our Breckenridge agents can educate you on the locale and features of each affordable housing neighborhood in Summit County.
Contact one of our Breckenridge Associates Real Estate agents to help you learn more about affordable housing in the area and show you any affordable housing units available for sale in the county. 970.453.2200.