A couple who moved from Hawaii to Colorado for a lower cost of living are struggling to afford a home on a six-figure income

• A millennial couple moved from Hawaii to Colorado in 2017 in search of a lower cost of living.
• Despite having a six-figure household income, they’ve struggled to find a home in their budget.
• High home prices and mortgage rates have made homeownership feel out of reach for some Americans.

Jon Sibok wants his family to have a home of their own someday, but achieving that goal feels like an uphill battle.

The 29-year-old works as a production lead at a bakery and lives in Commerce City, Colorado — about 7 miles north of Denver. His girlfriend, who preferred not to have her name disclosed, is a supervisor at a food manufacturing company. Collectively, they bring in about $110,000 a year, documents viewed by Business Insider showed.

The ideal home for the couple — who have two daughters — has four bedrooms and two bathrooms, and costs no more than $400,000. Sibok said even that price would be a stretch for them now due to rising living expenses over the past few years — which have made it difficult for the couple to save enough for a down payment and subsequent mortgage payments.

Redfin reported that in September, the median home sale price in Commerce City was about $537,000. Sibok said he’d seen a few homes with three bedrooms and one bathroom selling for a bit less than $400,000, but most of them would require remodeling.

“With the cost of living in Colorado, it’s been difficult to make significant progress,” he said, adding, “I don’t want to put myself in a difficult financial situation. I have a stable job and income, but it wouldn’t be enough to cover the mortgage.” He said it could take a few years before they feel financially prepared for homeownership.

Sibok and his girlfriend are among the Americans with six-figure household incomes who say they can’t find a home in their budget that also meets their desired criteria. In recent years, high home prices and elevated mortgage rates have propelled the cost of homeownership in the US to near-record unaffordability levels. The median home sale price has risen 28% over the past five years, and the average 30-year mortgage rate remains considerably higher than it was a few years ago.

But conditions in Colorado can make it harder for some prospective homebuyers: The median mortgage payment in the state is $2,289 — 9th-highest in the nation — a recent BI analysis of the latest Census data found.

Sibok shared why he and his girlfriend initially thought Colorado could be a cost-saving destination and the top strategies they’re using to save for a home.

Entrepreneurship could help them afford a home

Sibok and his girlfriend moved to Colorado in 2017. Prior to this, they lived in Hawaii, where Sibok was born and raised.

One of the biggest reasons they left Hawaii was the state’s high cost of living. In June, the online bill-paying service Doxo published an analysis that looked at how much the average household spent each month on the 10 most common household bills, including utilities, health insurance, and housing. It found Hawaii was the most expensive state in the US, and Colorado ranked No. 9.

Sibok said their move was “quite sudden.” His girlfriend mentioned that her aunt was looking for someone to take over her rental in Colorado and they accepted her offer. Over the next two weeks, they packed up, shipped their things, and bought plane tickets using a tax refund Sibok hadn’t spent yet.

“At the time, it didn’t matter which state we moved to — any state would have worked,” he said, referring to cutting their cost of living. “Colorado just happened to be the opportunity that came our way.”

When the couple first moved to Colorado, home prices and mortgage rates were significantly lower than they are today. However, Sibok said it wasn’t until a few years ago that he found himself seriously thinking about homeownership.

Overall, the move has saved the couple money on housing costs. Sibok said their $1,425 monthly rent on their two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot townhouse in Colorado is lower than the roughly $1,700 they paid for a two-bedroom apartment in Hawaii seven years ago.

While they wait for the housing market to turn in their favor, Sibok said he and his girlfriend are trying to put themselves in the best financial position they can. He said they discussed ways to cut back on unnecessary expenses, such as dining out less and limiting impulsive purchases.

Sibok has also explored ways to boost his income. He said his struggle to achieve homeownership motivated him to start a real estate wholesaling business — something he’s worked on over the last year in addition to his full-time job. Since money is tight, he said he hopes to secure funding through loans or private investors to help grow his business. While the business is still in the early stages and isn’t generating significant income for him yet, he hopes it will eventually help him buy a home of his own.

Unless his business takes off, Sibok said that he and his girlfriend will likely have to delay homeownership for at least a few years. They expect home prices to rise further in their area, which means that their target home price will likely have to rise as well.

“Based on current trends, I expect we’ll need to budget above $400k in the future to get a home that checks all our boxes,” he said.

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