House RegretsThe house you didn’t buy.

The Boulder house you didn’t buy

The median home value in the Boulder, CO metro area was $783,000 in 2024, 2.2 times the US median of $360,600.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year estimates, table B25077 (median value of owner-occupied homes), margin of error ±$31,383.

Enter what the house cost and pick the year you almost bought to see what it is worth now, with the mortgage you didn’t take and the rent you paid instead. Values follow the FHFA all-transactions index for Boulder, CO, 1979–today.

$300k in 1979$3.28MSince 20003.1×Latest index2026 Q2

What did not buying cost?

What a house you looked at cost in that year.
The rest is a 30-year loan at that year’s average rate.
Adds a line estimating that rent today and the total you paid over the same years.

If you’d bought a $300k house at Boulder prices, year by year

Each figure is that house’s value at the 2026 Q2 index. Open a year for its mortgage math at that year’s rate.

1979$3.28M1980$3.06M1981$2.88M1982$2.51M1983$2.57M1984$2.48M1985$2.43M1986$2.34M1987$2.32M1988$2.31M1989$2.25M1990$2.19M1991$2.08M1992$1.89M1993$1.68M1994$1.46M1995$1.37M1996$1.32M1997$1.26M1998$1.19M1999$1.08M2000$934,6042001$841,8762002$805,2012003$793,5172004$773,0752005$739,6242006$725,8332007$715,6272008$706,0572009$709,7582010$719,8232011$732,6642012$719,0642013$682,1692014$630,5562015$568,3152016$507,2852017$465,8752018$434,2342019$418,7982020$407,3912021$361,3642022$308,1152023$307,4732024$300,5192025$295,440

Every year, indexed

YearIndex (avg)$300k then, nowMultiple
197943.2$3.28M11×
198046.2$3.06M10×
198149.1$2.88M9.6×
198256.3$2.51M8.4×
198355.0$2.57M8.6×
198457.1$2.48M8.3×
198558.2$2.43M8.1×
198660.6$2.34M7.8×
198761.1$2.32M7.7×
198861.3$2.31M7.7×
198962.8$2.25M7.5×
199064.6$2.19M7.3×
199168.2$2.08M6.9×
199274.9$1.89M6.3×
199384.4$1.68M5.6×
199497.0$1.46M4.9×
1995103.0$1.37M4.6×
1996107.4$1.32M4.4×
1997112.2$1.26M4.2×
1998118.9$1.19M4.0×
1999131.3$1.08M3.6×
2000151.4$934,6043.1×
2001168.1$841,8762.8×
2002175.7$805,2012.7×
2003178.3$793,5172.6×
2004183.0$773,0752.6×
2005191.3$739,6242.5×
2006194.9$725,8332.4×
2007197.7$715,6272.4×
2008200.4$706,0572.4×
2009199.4$709,7582.4×
2010196.6$719,8232.4×
2011193.1$732,6642.4×
2012196.8$719,0642.4×
2013207.4$682,1692.3×
2014224.4$630,5562.1×
2015249.0$568,3151.9×
2016278.9$507,2851.7×
2017303.7$465,8751.6×
2018325.8$434,2341.4×
2019337.9$418,7981.4×
2020347.3$407,3911.4×
2021391.6$361,3641.2×
2022459.2$308,1151.0×
2023460.2$307,4731.0×
2024470.8$300,5191.0×
2025478.9$295,4400.98×

More in CO

Methodology

House values come from the FHFA all-transactions House Price Index, which gives quarterly figures for each metro area as far back as 1975 in the earliest markets.

A purchase in year Y is valued at that year’s average index level and scaled to the latest quarter. Mortgage math uses that year’s average 30-year fixed rate (Freddie Mac PMMS via FRED). The rent line grows the rent you enter with the metro’s HUD 2-bedroom Fair Market Rents, or with the national CPI rent index for purchase years before 1983. The market line invests the same down payment in an S&P 500 index fund, the TSP C Fund, with dividends reinvested (monthly returns from tsp.gov, from 1988).

Limits: the index tracks the metro as a whole, and a single street or house can move differently. Condition, remodels, taxes, insurance, maintenance and selling costs are not modeled. Full methodology →

FAQ

What is the average home price in Boulder, CO?

The median home value in the Boulder, CO metro area was $783,000 in 2024, 2.2 times the US median of $360,600. The median is the middle value: half of owner-occupied homes are worth more and half are worth less. The figure is from the Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (table B25077).

What would a house bought in Boulder in 2000 be worth today?

About $934,604 at the 2026 Q2 index: a $300,000 house bought in 2000, tracked by the FHFA all-transactions index for this metro, has a 3.1× market multiple.

What would a house bought in Boulder in 2012 be worth today?

About $719,064 at the 2026 Q2 index: a $300,000 house bought in 2012, tracked by the FHFA all-transactions index for this metro, has a 2.4× market multiple.

Does this include mortgage leverage?

Yes. The calculator amortizes the loan monthly at that year’s average 30-year fixed rate (Freddie Mac PMMS), shows the equity you would hold today, and divides that equity by your down payment. Leverage is why that multiple is usually bigger than the market multiple.

Is this the value of MY house?

No. The index tracks repeat transactions across the whole metro and is not an appraisal of any one house. Your block, condition, remodels, taxes, insurance and selling costs all move your own number.

Is this investment advice?

No. This is historical arithmetic for education and entertainment. Past prices never guarantee future prices.