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LITTLETON, Colo. (KDVR) — Alyssa and Andrew Hannig gave themselves a July deadline: find a house or leave Colorado for more affordable pastures.

“I’m like ‘We could live in Mississippi, we could do that right?’ We’re flexible, we adapt,” joked Hannig. She can laugh now that she and her husband finally closed on a house in Littleton after a year and half of looking.

“I could say easily we looked and were interested in 50 plus homes and quickly realized after crunching those numbers forget it. We’re priced out,” remembered Hannig.

Priced out not because of a home’s listing price but because in metro Denver, 65% of homes sell over the asking price. The Denver Metro Association of Denver Realtors told the Problem Solvers the average house sells $30,000 over the asking price, but in many cases, homes are selling for even more. 

The Hannigs said they put in contracts for at least 10 homes and were outbid every time.

In order to get the home they purchased, the couple had to offer $615,000 for a home listed at $550,000.

“We feel so fortunate to be able to even be in the game because there are so many people who can’t,” Hannig said.

Like so many families, the Hannigs had to stretch their budget knowing they’ll spend even more money to fix up the house before they move in with their three children, all of them under age six.

The Hannigs said someone actually bid $50,000 more than they did, but said the seller took pity on the Hannigs because they had a young family.

“Mind blown, we feel like the most fortunate pair of people sitting in the city, greater city limits right now,” Hannig said. Her husband Andrew added, “It really showed me a piece of humanity … had that not happened, we would probably not be in Colorado – not because we wouldn’t want to be, but because we just wouldn’t be able to afford it.”