southeastern Colorado struggles to attract homebuilders (Denver, Erie: how much, house, employment)

[Mike from back east]

I'm thinking the best solution right now is find a maker of decent manufactured housing and truck in a few hundred units. If that takes root then maybe there's a chance for conventional housing to bloom.

Towns in rural areas whose main function is prisons have a tenuous foothold as seen in Susanville, CA recently.

Article in NY Times.

Open source same article without all the pix.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

Manufactured housing has long been the answer in Buena Vista. Manufactured, as in built in a factory but put on a permanent foundation. And now a new company, Fading West, has built a manufacturing plant in BV and hired local workers to provide homes for new communities they are developing. So far, I think it has been working.

[brightdoglover]

Nothing wrong with pre-fab houses, that's for sure.

[Mike from back east]

Manufactured homes have improved greatly, there are even investment trusts that specialize in such communities.

[davebarnes]

Small towns are doomed.
Accept reality.

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by otowi

In this case, it appears a lack of housing is standing in the way of growth in some of those small towns - they have more workers than they have housing for, according to the article.

The issue comes down to the lower income people being pushed out of the lower income housing by people making a little more than them. Like many areas retail, farm labor, and many of the other jobs available in these small towns just do not pay enough for people to compete with the buyers moving into town. With the growth of availability of work from home and high speed internet in rural areas those people moving from the cities are shocked to find houses for less than $500,000 and buying the nicer stuff.

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by Mike from back east

I'm thinking the best solution right now is find a maker of decent manufactured housing and truck in a few hundred units. If that takes root then maybe there's a chance for conventional housing to bloom.

Towns in rural areas whose main function is prisons have a tenuous foothold as seen in Susanville, CA recently.

Article in NY Times.

Open source same article without all the pix.

Manufactured housing is a huge help, hopefully more builders come online as currently many of them are a year away from delivering.

The thing about the Arkansas valley, where many of these counties are at, is that the area has long depended on agriculture and prisons, it is now diversifying with growth in the marijuana business, trucking companies, steel jobs in Pueblo, retirement population moving to the area from Colorado SPrings and Pueblo, and work from home types.

I moved to a small town on the eastern plains 4 years ago since I work from home and could put my kids in a better school and enjoy small town life.

[jwiley]

Originally Posted by davebarnes

Small towns are doomed.
Accept reality.

Some small towns are growing with people happily leaving cities. Some as fast as 20% yearly for the last 3 years or so. As hard as it is for some to believe there are many many people that love living in small towns and not dealing with the constant crap the city brings.

[Spot]

Originally Posted by Arrby

Mike from back east, what you say is true. However, there is an even more fundamental factor at work: workers and subcontractors. It is one think to see a market, it is another thing to serve it. How is a contractor going to get construction workers in a place like S.E. Colorado? There is no place for them to live. There is no long term future for their families if they had a place to live.

It is theoretically possible to move in temporary housing, but aside from the expense why would anyone agree to live that way when they can get all the work they want in communities their families want to live in? The same issue arises with subs. They do not need the expense and hassle of a 100 mile commute.

We face this same problem on a smaller scale up in Teller County.

Yeah, I think this is the main problem. I'm not surprised that some of the rural areas are struggling with finding qualified labor considering the fact that companies right here in Denver can't find enough workers.

[davebarnes]

Originally Posted by jwiley

Some small towns are growing with people happily leaving cities. Some as fast as 20% yearly for the last 3 years or so. As hard as it is for some to believe there are many many people that love living in small towns and not dealing with the constant crap the city brings.

There are always exceptions. But, the vast majority are doomed.