Realty board is priced out of Aspen

Here is an example of out-of-control real estate prices in Aspen, Colo., where the average home sells for $4 million: The local realty association has moved out of town to find an office it can afford.

The Aspen Board of Realtors previously had occupied a small space at the airport that serves the pricey ski community, but it recently relocated 10 miles away to the town of Basalt. The situation would be comical except for the fact that Aspen recently was deemed the least-affordable resort town in the country and constantly struggles to keep employees who can afford to live there.

It has been working on the problem, though. The town and county now have 2,600 units in an affordable-housing program designed to accommodate the workers who keep the place going.