Key Takeaways
- • Annum Housing, an AI-powered community housing navigator, expanded into Colorado through a partnership with Aspen School District, making Colorado the second state where the platform is live after Southern Oregon.
- • Aspen School District's housing portfolio includes 120 units serving more than 200 faculty and staff, funded in part by two bond measures totaling $209 million approved by voters since 2020.
- • In the first phase of the rollout, more than 100 staff members completed lease renewals through an Annum portal, and about 80 incoming teachers and staff used Dorothy, Annum's AI housing navigator, to secure housing before the 2026-27 school year.
- • A full-time Colorado worker must earn $36.44 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental at fair market rent, roughly 2.4 times the state's $15.16 minimum wage, according to NLIHC's Out of Reach 2026 report; in Pitkin County the figure is $42.58.
Summary
Annum Housing, an AI-powered community housing navigator that launched in Southern Oregon earlier this year, announced on October 22, 2026 that it is expanding into Colorado through a partnership with Aspen School District, according to a PRWeb press release. The district is using Annum to run its employee housing program for teachers and staff, including lease renewals, new-hire housing matching and portfolio oversight. The deployment marks the platform's second live state as it continues a national rollout.
The partnership addresses a acute affordability gap. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2026 report, a full-time worker in Colorado must earn $36.44 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental at fair market rent, about 2.4 times the state's $15.16 minimum wage. In Pitkin County, home to Aspen, the required wage rises to $42.58 an hour, the third-highest in the state.
Aspen School District has already invested heavily in staff housing. Voters have approved two bond measures since 2020 totaling $209 million, funding a major expansion that gives the district 120 units. The district says ownership alone does not solve the problem: staff must still be matched to suitable units, renewals must be managed, and administrators need real-time visibility into who needs housing and which options are working. Historically much of this work was done manually.
In the first phase, more than 100 staff members completed lease renewals through a dedicated Annum portal, and about 80 incoming teachers and staff used Dorothy, Annum's AI housing navigator, to secure housing ahead of the 2026-27 school year. Jerryck Murrey, CEO and Founder of Annum Housing, said that while communities have made meaningful supply investments, "what's been missing is the system to connect people to it." Joe Waneka, Director of Operations and Facilities at Aspen School District, said housing benefits are central to recruiting and retaining teachers and that the platform lets the district see "what's happening across our housing portfolio" in real time.
Annum plans to release an updated version of its app later this month and, in the coming months, extend its matching tools to additional employers across the Roaring Fork Valley. The company also expects to bring the platform to additional states in the coming months. Annum describes itself as a community-wide navigator that identifies early signs of housing instability and connects residents to personalized resources.
The partnership addresses a acute affordability gap. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition's Out of Reach 2026 report, a full-time worker in Colorado must earn $36.44 an hour to afford a modest two-bedroom rental at fair market rent, about 2.4 times the state's $15.16 minimum wage. In Pitkin County, home to Aspen, the required wage rises to $42.58 an hour, the third-highest in the state.
Aspen School District has already invested heavily in staff housing. Voters have approved two bond measures since 2020 totaling $209 million, funding a major expansion that gives the district 120 units. The district says ownership alone does not solve the problem: staff must still be matched to suitable units, renewals must be managed, and administrators need real-time visibility into who needs housing and which options are working. Historically much of this work was done manually.
In the first phase, more than 100 staff members completed lease renewals through a dedicated Annum portal, and about 80 incoming teachers and staff used Dorothy, Annum's AI housing navigator, to secure housing ahead of the 2026-27 school year. Jerryck Murrey, CEO and Founder of Annum Housing, said that while communities have made meaningful supply investments, "what's been missing is the system to connect people to it." Joe Waneka, Director of Operations and Facilities at Aspen School District, said housing benefits are central to recruiting and retaining teachers and that the platform lets the district see "what's happening across our housing portfolio" in real time.
Annum plans to release an updated version of its app later this month and, in the coming months, extend its matching tools to additional employers across the Roaring Fork Valley. The company also expects to bring the platform to additional states in the coming months. Annum describes itself as a community-wide navigator that identifies early signs of housing instability and connects residents to personalized resources.
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