Fort Collins-Loveland named a ‘best place for homeownership’

FORT COLLINS – Fort Collins-Loveland has been named one of the top ten small metro areas for homeownership by NerdWallet, an analytics company.

NerdWallet analyzed the top 100 most populated metro areas to determine which have characteristics that are favorable to homeowners. Three main factors were considered, including availability of homes, affordability of homes, and growth in the area.

Fort Collins-Loveland was named No. 9 in the top 10 metro areas of similar size for homeownership.

SPONSORED CONTENT

How Platte River Power Authority is accelerating its energy transition

Platte River Power Authority, the community-owned wholesale electricity provider for Northern Colorado, has a history of bold initiatives.

The rate of homeownership in Fort Collins-Loveland in 2011-2012 was 65.2 percent, according to NerdWallet’s research.

Median monthly selected homeowner costs in the area were $1,539, compared with median monthly income of $4,690. Homeowner costs as a percentage of household income were therefore 32.8 percent.

Financial convention states that ideally, housing costs should be about 30 percent of household income.

Fort Collins-Loveland’s population growth of 1.6 percent also counted in its favor, according to the study, which considers increasing population to be a sign of a robust economy, an attractive characteristic for homebuyers.

All of the statistics for the metro areas studied were compiled into an overall score, measured on a scale of zero to 100.

The Fort Collins-Loveland metro area scored a composite 62.8 on the scale, edged out by metros such as Springfield, Mo. and Columbus, Ga.