I was born and raised here in Denver, make a modest mid-$40,000 salary and I'm having trouble finding housing.

I make an offer only to be outbid. There are only a limited number of properties available and the good ones only last two or three days.

I have been looking for houses from about $130,000 to $250,000 and find that may not be enough to really get a single-family house in the area I would like to live in, close to the city center.

Related: Was my home a good investment?

I just looked at a two-bedroom, one bath with no yard, no garage in the Five Points area, close to public transportation. It's a transitional neighborhood. The price, though, was about $275 per square foot. Comps in the area are well over $300 a square foot. Someone bid well over the asking price of $225,000.

I could not imagine how far from the city I would have to live if I had a family on the same income I make now.

I'm lucky that my grandfather left me some money and I have enough for the 20% down payment. It's just still hard to find anything in my price range.