That is not an idle boast, says Mike Rinner of the Genesis Group, a Denver company that tracks the local housing market. "No question it is the most affordable new project in that northeast corridor and most likely in the whole metropolitan area," says Rinner. "He should do quite well with it." The $8.5 million subdivision is at Coronado Parkway and York Street, which is near 84th Avenue and Washington Street.<p< The two-bedroom units total 900 sf and three-bedroom units, 1,200 sf. Ron Elston, the project's listing agent with Keller Williams, says it likely is the most affordable new townhouse project in the Denver area. He says a new development by Kaufman & Broad near the development is the closest competitor, with units priced around $136,000. "In this price range, the $10,000 price difference makes a huge difference with buyers," he says.

At the August's end, the average price of a condominium/townhouse came in at $144,528.Collins says the problem in keeping the price down is that land is so expensive, but he says he was able to make a good deal on the six acres he and his two partners purchased. "This is an infill site and we got the ground cheap," he says. The subdivision was started in the 1970s, but the builder ran into financial problems during the dark days of overbuilding and falling oil prices of the mid-1980s.

"He's sort of finishing the development," Elston says. "I imagine it will all be sold out in another year. I'm getting about a dozen calls a day from realtors and about a half dozen calls from consumers. There's obviously a big demand for this kind of product.