20 Percent Growth In Construction Starts For Denver Metro

(Photo: CPR/Hart Van Denburg)
<p>Development in Denver&#039;s LoDo district is booming. A view from the redeveloped Union Station looking south on Jan. 25, 2015.</p>
Photo: LoDo, Union Station development 3
Development in Denver's LoDo district is booming. A view from the redeveloped Union Station looking south on Jan. 25, 2015.

Contractors have started about $5.5 billion worth of building in the Denver metro area, according to Dodge Data & Analytics. Apartments and single family homes are driving the construction boom, accounting for nearly 70 percent of new construction. Non-residential construction, including hospitals, warehouses, and hotels surpassed $2 billion in 2015.

All that construction has boosted the demand for labor. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Colorado has added more than 40,000 construction jobs since the recession ended.

On a related note, home prices have risen in Denver for nearly 4 straight years now, according to the S&P Case Shiller Index -- up a whopping 42 percent in that time. In fact, Denver regularly leads the nation in home appreciation.

And, foreclosures continue to fall to rock bottom levels in the Denver area. The rate has fallen to less than a third of 1 percent in the metro area, according to the latest numbers from Corelogic. The overall U.S. foreclosure rate is about 4 times higher.