| BY MEGAN SCHRADER
MSCHRADER@DENVERPOST.COM / @MEGANSCHRADER The Denver Post's Aldo Svaldi documented a Front Range housing market that is in retreat this week. Data shows a .5% drop in housing sale prices in 2025, a modest number that I don't think quite captures the good news represented for people who want Denver to be a city where everyone can live. A 1,200-square-foot house in my neighborhood, however, exemplifies exactly why a cooling housing market is a great thing for this city. The house — in a nice neighborhood with a Denver zip code — first listed for sale in August 2024 for $550,000. The home was dated and needed work. The listing description said it was "ideal for investors, builders or individuals looking to update or expand a single-family home in Central Denver!" It sold in January for $425,000, approximately the value of the 6,350-square-foot lot (buy a lot and get a house for free). I didn't see the inside, but my guess is it was dated but not unlivable. Most owners would need to put thousands of dollars into the home. But instead of scaping the home, the new owner fixed and flipped it, listing it again two months later for $650,000. None of these prices are affordable for middle-class Americans. But this story has a happy ending that could get happier. The house has sat on the market since March. The new price is $529,000. Less than the initial listing price before it had been
"tastefully remodled." This home, to me, represents the last hope for family housing in this city. Can a family buy a clean, updated and functional two-bedroom house, in a modest neighborhood, for less than a half-million dollars? For several years, the answer in my neighborhood was a laughing chorus of flippers and homebuilders as they
opened competing offers, but if the market continues to crunch sellers on properties that, for one reason or another, are less than ideal, once again families could move into my neighborhood — if they are willing to be house poor, that is. Want to sound off on a topic? Tap here to submit a letter to the editor or email your letter to openforum@denverpost.com.
 Joe Heller,
Hellertoon.com
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