Housing is personal to me. For most of my childhood, my family lived paycheck to paycheck, often just one emergency or disaster away from homelessness. Today, all too many of our Colorado neighbors experience that same insecurity.

Later as a young adult, my husband and I made countless offers on Lakewood starter homes we desperately wanted — only to lose out to buyers able to make all-cash offers, or go far above the asking price. Unfortunately, nothing about what we experienced has changed much for first-time homebuyers since then. In fact, it’s gotten even more challenging.

Lakewood and Colorado face a growing housing shortage, driving prices to unsustainable levels. More than half of Lakewood renters are cost-burdened, spending over 30% of their income on housing. The average Lakewo

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