Lafayette Colorado Real Estate

Founded as a coal mining camp in 1878, this community of over 20,000 has evolved into a thriving residential and service community.  Surrounded by the agricultural lands that sustained this town for many years, Lafayette has become a great place to live.  With well planned neighborhoods, good access to Boulder and Denver and many recreational opportunities, Lafayette has been growing at a great pace.  In 1960 the population was 2,612, now Lafayette is home to over 20,000 residents.  Be sure to take in the panoramic view of the snow capped back range of the Rocky Mountains.  It’s true that the further you get from the mountains the more spectacular the view.  Lafayette is right in the sweet spot for a great view.

Just the Facts:

Population: 24,000

Area: 8.9 square miles

Schools:

The City of Lafayette is served by the Boulder Valley School District.  A headline in 2010 read “Boulder Valley Schools Tops State Rankings”.  The article went along with the release of school testing proficiency scores as a result of CSAP and ACT testing completed last year. BVSD had 26 “excellent” ratings awarded to 23 individual schools which was more than any other Colorado School District.

I talk to many people around the country and having a strong school district is such an asset to our community and helps preserve real estate values. However, there is a downside to this type of reporting. Many parents use this information exclusively to judge the merits of a school. The soul of a school does not show up in a rating. Locally, we have many students who speak Spanish as a second language. These students are at a big disadvantage when they take standardized tests in English. Many of the schools with lower ratings have a large ESL (English as a Second Language) population. The schools who have many ESL students have high diversity and many times have more teachers who are able to split students into small groups based on skill level. The Lafayette schools recently have made many innovative efforts to attract students to their neighborhood schools. They have created specialized engineering programs and created magnet schools focusing on math and science. The bottom line is for parents to check out the schools in person to see what they have to offer, not just relying on the test scores.  For more information on each of the schools in Boulder please follow the links below.

High Schools (9th – 12th grade):  Centaurus, Peak to Peak Charter

Middle School (6th – 8th grade): Angevine, Peak to Peak Charter

Elementary Schools (K – 5th grade): Ryan, Sanchez, Peak to Peak, Pioneer, Lafayette

For scores for individual schools go to http://reportcard.cde.state.co.us/reportcard/CommandHandler.jsp

Real Estate Statistics:

Lafayette has a variety of housing types.  From condominiums, to golf course homes, patio homes to estates.  There are some great options for a great lifestyle.

Median Price:  $500,000

Average Price:  $533,971

Total number of Sales:  462

Sales Price to List Price Ratio: 99.15% (In 2018 the average sale was for above list price)

Sales $0 – $250,000: 10 (2%)

Sales $250,001 – $500,000:  222 (48%)

Sales $500,001 – $750,000:  166 (35%)

Sales $750,001 – $1 MM:  47 (10%)

Sales > $1 Million:   17 (4%)

Sales data is for the one year period ending December 31, 2019.

The chart below shows the median price of single family homes in the City of Lafayette and the rest of the Boulder County communities between 1997 and 2019.  Homes in Lafayette have appreciated 162% since 1997! Look for the green line below.

 Recreation:

Lafayette is a quiet residential community with many great places to exercise outside.  There are walking paths through most of the neighborhoods and larger open space areas on the edges of town.  One of the best places to exercise is at Waneka Lake.  The lake is surrounded by a walking path about a mile around.  The lake also has a park, picnic areas and open grass areas.   Indian Peaks golf course is a city owned 18 hole golf course and is one of my favorites.  For other golfing options around the area check out this list.  In the winter Eldora Mountain Resort is just a 45 minute drive up Boulder Canyon.  The Bob Burger recreation center is a city owned facility and offers a gym, a pool and full workout facilities.

 

Restaurants:

Lafayette has a traditional main street (South Public Road) where many restaurants are located.  This is a great place to walk, shop and eat.

 

 Shopping:

The main shopping in Lafayette is located on South Public Road.  There you will find antique shops and specialty shops and well as a large florist.  It is is just a few minutes away from the regional shopping mall, Flatirons Crossing and just down the street from all of the great shopping in Boulder.

 

 

 

Links:

City of Lafayette http://www.cityoflafayette.com/

Lafayette Chamber of Commerce http://www.chamber.lafayette.co.us/

Oatmeal Festival http://www.chamber.lafayette.co.us/oatmeal/index.html