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The beautiful city of Boulder Colorado, located approximately a half an hour Northwest of Denver, and 45 minutes Southwest of Fort Collins, is a fantastic place to live and raise a family. Cozied up against the Colorado Rocky Mountains, Boulder truly has so much to offer people who live there. Boulder CO real estate for sale tends to be the most expensive in the region, but for good reason. For one; it's near impossible to construct a new house in Boulder Colorado because of a moratorium on new home development. The supply limitation has just made demand go up (and has driven prices up along with high demand.) Unlike surrounding area communities (which we'll describe below), Boulder has the largest trail system, the most recreation facilities (4 city owned, and dozens of privately owned facilities), the most employment, wonderful schools, and of course -- "The Flatirons" that are located in Chataqua Park. The Flatirons can be seen for several miles, are utilized by thousands and thousands of residents and visitors a year, and are recognized the world over as a landmark of Colorado.

The population on Boulder Colorado is just over 100,000, and the prices for homes in Boulder begin at around $125,000 for a starter one bedroom condominium. Single family house prices start at around $250,000, which will likely get you a 900 square foot, 3 bedroom house. As you get closer to downtown Boulder, home prices tend to be higher.

With a population of about 70,000, Longmont is the second largest city in Boulder County. Longmont is just about fifteen to twenty five minutes Northwest of Boulder via hwy 119 (also known as The Diagonal). Unlike other cities in Boulder County that are quite intertwined with the city of Boulder, many families in Longmont think of themselves as much more independent from Boulder itself. Longmont has shopping centers, a transportation system, large-scale employers, and has both an old town and a new part of town. Longmont has lovely Victorian charmers, as well as dozens of stylish new home communities with a wide variety of building styles. Generally, Longmont housing prices are usually as much as 35 percent less expensive than in Boulder. Prices largely depend on what part of town homes are in.

Niwot Colorado is another city that is just Northwest of Boulder. Although Niwot is beginning to expand and seeing a lot of semi-custom and custom home development, it is largely considered a bedroom community to Boulder. Real estate in Niwot CO is extraordinarily limited, and average house prices will vary greatly. Home prices are so erratic largely because at any given time, there are probably only fifty to seventy homes available. With such a small number of homes, two or three sales on one side of the price scale can markedly modify average house prices for that month. (It should be noted that a lot of cities and towns have hundreds, if not several thousand homes that are for sale, and average house prices are far more constant than when there's just a couple of dozen homes that are available.) Overall, Niwot is an extremely charming smaller town that is as near to Boulder as you can be without living in a Boulder zip code.

Only about 15 or 20 minutes away from Boulder using South Boulder Rd, Baseline Rd, or Arapahoe Road -- is Lafayette, Colorado. Lafayette is one of the fastest growing Boulder County areas, with the Indian Peaks Neighborhood being the biggest part of that expansion. Lafayette home prices tend to be up to 35 percent lower than Boulder prices. In addition to getting a larger house for the money in Lafayette, residents in Lafayette CO enjoy a smaller town feeling with benefits including ideal antique shops, family owned businesses, quick access to I-25, and of course, the Indian Peaks Golf Course - which is one of the most gorgeous public golf courses in the community.

If you have considered making a home in Boulder, but aren't thrilled with Boulder home prices, Louisville Colorado is just about 10 or 15 minutes East of Boulder. There are 4 pretty easy routes providing access to Boulder from Louisville; South Boulder Road, Baseline Road, Arapahoe Road, and Highway 36. In addition to easy access via car, Boulder County has a great transportation system, with multiple bus routes that go into town if you would rather not drive from Louisville. A Louisville Colorado house for sale is on average up to thirty percent lower than in Boulder. Although the starting price for a Louisville town home or condo is around the same as in Boulder, homeowners get more for their money. It's similar with single family houses. A Louisville starter home often goes for approximately $250,000, but instead of a 900 square foot house without a garage, you'd likely get a 1000 to 1200 square foot home with a one or even two car garage. Louisville isn't just a suburb of Boulder either. In fact, a lot of residents of Boulder often come to Louisville for the great amenities Louisville has, like big-box shopping such as Costco or Target, a movie theater, or one of the many delicious small town eateries.

For more details or current statistics on any of the communities that are talked about in this article, or for descriptions of other Boulder County communities , call a Benchmark agent or visit www.BenchmarkRealtyLLC.com.