Here’s a statistic to be unhappy about: Colorado and Utah host the fifth and sixth most expensive housing markets in the country, according to Bankrate.com. (Montana is eighth, just behind New York.)
But here’s the good news: two rural housing champions in those states have found creative ways to build affordable housing.
Moab, Utah, sited along the Colorado River, draws at least 5 million tourists annually for mountain biking, rafting, four-wheeling, and visiting two nearby national parks. But the town’s real estate has long been pricey, and back in 2004, a Moab loan officer named Emily Niehaus realized that the only affordable housing in her hometown was mostly older trailer homes.
