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Residential Development Trends <br />This section focuses on understanding trends in residential development over the last decade or <br />so, using ACS data to look at the change in number of housing units compared to other <br />geographies and city permit data to understand trends in the type of housing units developed. <br />Key findings include: <br />■ Louisville is one of the slower growing geographies in the county, with an 11% growth <br />of housing units from 2011 to 2021. <br />■ The majority (70%) of housing permits issued in recent years have been for single family <br />housing, primarily focused on rebuilding after the 2021 Marshall Fire. <br />Residential development in Louisville declined substantially between 2018-2021. The <br />sharp increase in units observed between 2022-2023 is almost entirely due to the <br />permitted of replacement units from the Marshall Fire. <br />Exhibit 44 shows the change in total housing units from 2011 to 2021. According to ACS data, <br />Louisville experienced similar rate of growth as the County overall, increasing its housing stock <br />by about 11% over the ten-year period. While all comparison cities saw an increase in the total <br />number of housing units over the same time period, Erie experienced the most growth, with a <br />67% increase in housing units. Boulder and Superior saw the least amount of growth, at just a <br />4% increase each. Given the increase in the number of high -income households over the time <br />period, the limited amount of new housing is likely also contributing to high housing costs as <br />wealthier households are able to outbid on limited stock. <br />Exhibit 44: Change in Total Housing Units, Louisville and Comparison Geographies, 2011-2021 <br />Source: ACS 5-Year Data Tables, 2007-2011, 2017-2021 <br />1 <br />Erie <br />6,049 <br />10,085 <br />4,036 <br />67% <br />Lafayette <br />10,193 <br />12,944 <br />2,751 <br />27% <br />Longmont <br />34,477 <br />40,908 <br />6,431 <br />19% <br />Louisville <br />7,773 <br />8,665 <br />892 <br />11% <br />Boulder County <br />126,444 <br />139,302 <br />12,858 <br />10% <br />Boulder <br />43,631 <br />45,304 <br />1,673 <br />4% <br />Superior <br />4,597 <br />4,790 <br />193 <br />4% <br />ACS data is survey based and tends to lag in time, so to supplement housing development <br />trends, ECONorthwest examined the City's building permit data from 2016 to 2023.10 <br />10 City permit data collection changed in 2015, so we have only examined 2016-2023. <br />ECONorthwest 38 <br />45 <br />