Best Locations To Build In Colorado – The Top Custom Home Areas

If the first question we are asked, the second is related to location!  The second most frequently asked question is always, what are the best locations to build in Colorado?

Denver, Colorado, aka the Mile High City is among the most appealing metropolitan areas in the entire United States. Its strong growth and large net in-migration are driven by its famous natural beauty, as well as a strong economic picture, dynamic cultural and art scene, and (relatively) affordable property compared to similarly-appointed regions in high-cost of living states. 

Whether you’re an investor looking for a site for your latest property portfolio acquisition or a homeowner looking to grab your piece of the Colorado dream, you’ve got to start somewhere. Get your search off to a great start with this curated list of what we believe are the best locations to build in Colorado.

Our #1 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Greenwood Village

This home rule municipality got its start in the late 1800s, during Colorado’s Pike’s Peak Gold Rush. After American settlers moved to the area, Greenwood Village became a rural oasis, with fruit orchards, dairy farms, and rolling green plains that seem to go on forever, hence the name Greenwood Village. Modern Greenwood Village got its start when it was incorporated in the early 1950s, and the city is now a prospering suburban town that covers 8 square miles of beautiful Arapahoe County and is also the home of 15,738 happy residents.

What makes Greenwood Village a great place to build a custom home?

There are several reasons why you might want to consider building a residence or investment property in Greenwood Village. Before we even start to look at the intangibles let’s get the data out of the way first. First off, the city has a high median income for the state of Colorado, with a median household income of  $116,147, which is substantially higher than the statewide median household income of $77,127. High household income is typically a sign of other positive attributes within a given real estate market. 

Education is also a priority for the community, as demonstrated by the city’s highly rated public schools, most of which score an “A” or higher on Niche.com’s rankings list. When you buy property in a given area you’re also investing in the local schools due to the nature of school funding and local property taxes- families want good schools for their kids, and they’re willing to pay a premium for the privilege, thus buttressing and helping to grow the local real estate market, boosting sale prices and rents. 

After considering this data it should be no surprise that Greenwood Village real estate is in demand, riding a national wave that has seen dramatic price growth in cities from California to Colorado, and in cities and towns all across the country. The city has experienced growth over the past year, with the median sale price rising to $1,098,666, a gain of 3.2% year-over-year. 

However, while respectable, this growth pales in comparison to other cities in Colorado, some of which have seen double-digit home sale prices over the past year. This lower growth is partially due to the relatively high entry point for the area, with a median listing home price of roughly $1.3 million, as well as its relatively low volume of sales compared to more densely populated cities. It may represent an opportunity for a savvy buyer to get in before sky-high growth or as a value-add opportunity for someone looking to maximize their ROI from a property investment.

Our #2 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Littleton

Littleton has the unique distinction of sitting in three different counties, Arapahoe, Douglas, and Jefferson Counties. While this tidbit is interesting, it does little to explain why Littleton is having a moment and seeing significant interest from homebuyers and real estate investors alike, with Littleton regularly making national “Best City” lists each year. This Front Range city is the 20th largest in Colorado, with a population of 45,652 as of the 2020 US Census. 

This Denver suburb is more than just a bedroom community. It has its own charm and attractions, including the gorgeous greenery at Roxborough State Park, as well as its picture-perfect downtown, chock full of antique stores, quaint and high-couture restaurants alike, and a local flavor that distinguishes Littleton from other Denver Metro Area cities. 

What makes Littleton a great place to build a custom home?

Like Greenwood Village, Littleton boasts a relatively high median income of $106,318. Along with a high-income level comes the myriad benefits we covered above. The school district in the city is phenomenal, it recently made news for placing #6 on Niche.com’s ranking of the top school districts in Colorado. 

The median sale price for Littleton sat at $582,659, a stunning 20.1% higher than the same period in the previous year, and Littleton’s lower median listing home price of $570,000 means it has room to grow to catch up to some of its well-heeled neighbors, like Greenwood Village. The relative affordability of land within Littleton makes it a potentially excellent spot for your next luxury home build.

Our #3 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Cherry Creek

Cherry Creek is one of Denver’s premier neighborhoods, famed for its stately tree-lined roads, luxe shopping options, world-class dining, and some of the most desirable real estate in the city. It sits just 10 minutes outside of Downtown Denver, giving the city the ability to simultaneously offer residents the creature comforts of the city with the slower pace and safe streets of the suburbs. 

While Cherry Creek is close to Denver, it’s also a cultural destination on its own merits, with art galleries galore, trendy boutiques, and clothiers that wouldn’t be out of place in Beverly Hills or SoHo. Cherry Creek North, a posh Cherry Creek submarket, is considered to be one of the best shopping destinations in the region, and it is far from the only option available in Cherry Creek. This exclusive enclave is among the smaller neighborhoods on our list, with a population of 11,120 as of the 2020 census. 

What makes Cherry Creek a great place to build a custom home?

The 80111 zip code, Cherry Creek’s zip code, holds considerable cachet within Denver. While you may find cheaper lots or better suburban amenities like Big Box stores in other Front Range cities, Cherry Creek’s longstanding reputation gives it a level of stability over the long term that is hard to match. This is evidenced by its lofty average household income, which comes in far above the average at $166,971. 

While Cherry Creek skews more mature than many other Denver neighborhoods, it is still popular with families, and the local school district enrolls more than 55,000 students every year, in fact sharing some overlap with students and schools in Greenwood Village. The schools are above-average, in line with the neighborhood itself, and students score well on academic measures like college acceptance and standardized test scores. 

Despite its grand reputation and cultural clout, Cherry Creek’s median listing home price is in the middle of the cities on our list, coming in at $725K– a more than acceptable entry point in today’s red-hot market. As an investor, you might want to look into properties sooner rather than later, as the Cherry Creek neighborhood has seen double-digit growth in median listing home prices over the last year, growing by a whopping 15.8%. 

Our #4 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Parker

The city of Parker sits about 20 miles southeast of Denver and is known as a semi-rural, upscale city that places abundant pride in its quiet, tree-lined streets, low crime rates, spacious lots, and outstanding quality of life. Parker started life as a farm town, and much of that heritage shines through today, with wide-open expanses of greenery, golf courses, and more horse ranches than you can shake a stick at. 

Parker residents typically commute, either to the Denver Tech Center or downtown, while spending their evenings back on the quiet streets of Parker, with its gorgeous mountain views, spacious homes, and ready access to all of the services and amenities that make modern living worth living. 

What makes Parker a great place to build a custom home?

Parker has a lot of things going for it. The city’s close but not too close location to Denver is perfect for young families, which is why the average age of Parker residents is currently 34 years old– significantly younger than many of the other areas on our list. This should help to ensure the future of the town and add to its dynamism and long-term growth prospects. It’s got a relatively large population compared to some of the other cities we’ve mentioned, coming in at 54,352 residents per the 2020 census. 

Median household incomes here are also high, roughly about $110,934 per year, which helps to ensure a steady supply of potential quality tenants and home buyers. The median listing home price, while nothing to sneeze at, is still affordable compared to pricier nearby suburbs, coming in at $650K. Over the past year, the city has reported an impressive 98.44% sales to list ratio, which means properties tend to sell. This data point, combined with the astronomical 22.6% year-over-year growth in list prices bodes well for the future of Parker, Colorado.

Our #5 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Castle Rock

Castle Rock is a suburb of Denver that sits roughly 30 miles and is a 45-minute drive south of Denver. This bedroom community shares a lot in common with Parker, including the fact that it is close, but not too close to the city, giving residents a breather from the hustle and bustle of Denver. Additionally, it offers up a wide selection of real estate options beyond the standard single-family home, with many different home and property types available for investors. Castle Rock also has plenty going for it on its own, including excellent shopping, an abundance of outdoor open spaces, majestic parks, and top-flight golf courses. 

What makes Castle Rock a great place to build a custom home?

Castle Rock has a winning combination of room to grow, a robust public education system, local amenities, and relative proximity to Denver. It shares much in common with many of the other cities on our list. Most city schools are ranked highly by independent observers, with some schools like STEM School Highlands Ranch and the Challenge to Excellent Charter Schools ranking among the top schools in the state.  

The city has seen excellent growth in the post-pandemic years, with median listing home prices reaching 610k in January 2022, trending up 19.1% in a single year. Castle Rock also maintains an above-average median household income, which sits at $109,700 as of 2022. All of the above statistics, as well as market forecasts for the Colorado real estate industry and the national real estate industry point to substantial growth in Castle Rock’s future- growth that will benefit some investors, why not you?

Our #6 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Sedalia

Sedalia is a charming town located to the south of Highlands Ranch and northwest of Castle Rock, a few miles off of Highway US-85. This town offers up the best of rural living with all the conveniences that come from being within easy driving distance of a major metropolitan area. Sedalia abounds with large lots with significant acreage, and even areas of the town that are zoned specifically for horses!

It stands as an entry point to the Colorado Foothills, which sit to the west of the town. Residents enjoy quick access to world-class trout fishing, watersports on the Platte River, and camping and hiking options galore in the nearby Arapahoe National Forest.

What makes Sedalia a great place to build a custom home?

As an investor, one of your goals should be to find areas that have yet to reach their full potential- imagine the returns on a property purchased in San Francisco in the late 70s, prior to the tech boom, or a piece of Manhattan bought before the city was cleaned up in the 1990s. Out of all of the towns on our list, Sedalia has some of the most open space and room to grow into its own. This tiny town only has 133 residents as of 2020- it is not hyperbole to say that there are probably more livestock and farm animals than human residents of the town. 

You can see the seeds of Sedalia’s future potential in its growth over the past year. It grew more than any other city on our list- and none of the cities we’ve covered are slouches in that department. The median listing home price in the city sat at $887,000 in January 2022, a stunning rise of 36.5% in just a single year! The average household income is also lower than others on our list, coming in at $76,572,  perhaps pointing to fertile ground for developers and investors to take advantage of the city’s natural beauty and rustic charm. 

Our #7 Best Colorado Home Building Location: Denver

Our last but certainly not least location, Denver!  What is there to say about Denver, the Mile High City? As you’ve probably deduced from this article, Denver gives residents access to some of the greatest natural beauty on Earth, a strong, diverse economic base, and incredible culinary and cultural options that rival any big city in the United States. The city draws renters and homeowners from across the country, attracted to the above qualities, its status as the cultural capital of the Mountain West, and relatively affordable properties- from single-family homes to multifamily apartment buildings.

What makes Denver a great place to build a custom home?

Whether you’re building a residence to live out your golden years, looking for a rental property, or just hoping to benefit from property appreciation, Denver has a lot of options. The city has experienced robust growth over the past few years, with the median listing home price reaching $525,000, a rise of 10.5% in a single year. That number is for the entire city- there are many neighborhoods that far surpass that growth rate, like Cherry Creek’s growth rate of 15.8%. 

Denver is also bouncing back strong with post-pandemic lows, with unemployment falling below 5% for the first time since the beginning of the pandemic. Additionally, the median household income in Denver remains higher than the national average at $68,592. Denver also has a wealth of different property types and open lots, perfect for building your dream home or your next investment property. You also can’t beat the city’s rich history and culture, which places it firmly in the center of the conversation regarding the Mountain West. This regional prominence, alongside all of the other factors mentioned in this article, should help Denver to continue to grow and flourish as years go by.

-Thomas Sattler Homes

Found a perfect lot in Castle Rock? Ready to buy a tear-down in Denver and get started building your dream home?

Call us today to schedule your free feasibility estimate! Know your total project cost before you commit to any decisions. We pride ourselves on a customer-oriented experience, always putting your needs first. 

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Call (720)449-3562</a> or online at ThomasSattlerHomes.com.