SUMMIT COUNTY — Overall demand for local attainable housing appears to have lessened since the economic downturn, but it's as steady as ever for folks below the county's median income levels.

“It's not the frantic demand it was for anything within the attainable price range,” said Jennifer Kermode, executive director for the Summit Combined Housing Authority.

She said demand remains high for people at 100 percent ($85,100 for a family of four) and below the Area Median Income.

“A tremendous amount of people who live and work here want to have a house here,” Kermode said.

She said demand in the 120 to 140 percent AMI range many have declined as people left the Summit County.

“Also, people in that range (could be) thinking market rate units may come down to their price level,” she said.

Prices have dropped, especially with older condominiums and apartment complexes, though most two-bedroom condos available at less than $300,000 were built in the 1970s.

“You can't always house a family of four in a two-bedroom, 600 square foot condo built in the 70s,” Kermode said.

The housing authority's most recent demand analysis was published in 2007. Kermode said that by the end of April, it's anticipated that a snapshot will be available including information such as housing inventory and wages “for a baseline trend analysis” to help with planning.

The countywide target is to build 2,500 more attainable housing units; existing units number about 770.

Kermode said that since the recession hit, her office hasn't recorded many defaults on the deed-restricted housing. But there have been more defaults on down-payment-assistance loans, which can be taken out on market-rate as well as deed-restricted units.

“Almost all have been on market loans,” Kermode said.

Less people to slip through cracks

Housing authority officials are also working on getting people just outside income cutoffs into non-federally subsidized housing. Kermode said a “method for granting an exception” could help keep the county on track toward housing goals.

She said the aim is for “a process equitable to everybody that is repeatable.”

The new guidelines are under development, and Kermode said to expect changes in the next three to four months.

“I don't want to see people see the AMI and say, ‘I don't qualify,'” Kermode said. “We don't want to see people knock themselves out, so in all cases we'd just assume them come to us and get it known for certain.”

Developments such as Solarado in Silverthorne and Peak One in Frisco don't involve federal funding and could accommodate some of these people.

It's not too late to snag a residence in Solarado, the eight-unit affordable housing development in Silverthorne. There have been three or four parties to “come in and qualify,” Kermode said.

The complex is behind Office Max in the Ptarmigan Trail Estates subdivision bordering Silverthorne and Dillon. Each unit is $250,000.

Breaking ground on developments

Both the $12 million Valley Brook development in Breckenridge and Frisco's roughly $19 million Peak One development are expected to begin construction as early as this spring.

At Valley Brook, 26 of the 42 units have been reserved. Most of them are through the federal Housing and Urban Development low-income program available to people at a bit less than 80 percent of AMI.

Units range to accommodate people up to 120 percent of AMI.

Kermode said most of the reservations have been made by young “start-up families.”

Construction anticipated last year was delayed after a falling-out between the developer and previous contractor.

Kermode said the development is expected to be back before Breckenridge Town Council by March 9.

Peak One development homes are to be available to people making 80 percent to 160 percent of AMI. A prospective home owner's meeting for the neighborhood is scheduled for March 3 at 7 p.m. in the Log Chapel at Frisco's Historic Park.

For more information about affordable housing including the AMI scale, visit www.summithousing.us.

Summit Daily reporter Caitlin Row contributed to this story.

Robert Allen can be contacted at (970) 668-4628 or rallen@summitdaily.com.