Matt Hutton bought a two-bedroom townhome in 2019 for $324,000, refinanced during pandemic rate lows, and sold in August 2024 for roughly $150,000 profit. He and his wife used the proceeds to buy a newly built single-family house on a premium lot. Soon they faced practical problems: long, slow commutes, ongoing construction around the neighborhood, and annoying wind noise. A few months after closing they began considering moving. Quick resale usually risks financial loss because transaction costs take time to recover, and the Denver-area market softened as buyers grew more cautious. The builder had offered about $30,000 in incentives, largely as a mortgage-rate buydown.
Matt Hutton was living the millennial homeowner dream. He scrimped and saved until he was able to buy his first place in 2019, paying $324,000 for a two-bedroom townhome in a suburb west of Denver. When mortgage rates dropped to record lows during the pandemic, he refinanced to slash his interest costs. Then home values ballooned, enabling him to sell in August 2024 for a gain of roughly $150,000 in just about five years.
The house itself was nice, with fresh appliances, ample light, and clear views of a lake just beyond the property. The couple started to notice some drawbacks, though. For one, Hutton's new commute sucked. "It took forever to get to the highway," the 34-year-old tells me. Simple trips demanded at least half an hour behind the wheel. The neighborhood was still a jumbled mess of construction, with hundreds of homes yet to be delivered.
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