$500K+ house at 7% interest is $3,300/month payment (not including other fees) to give some perspective. It's eye watering.

Home prices have ticked down in Denver, but make no mistake: Buying a house here still requires a lot of cash. Within the city limits, median sale prices are $578,000, which would require a minimum down payment of $17,340 (3 percent) for a conventional loan if you have excellent credit. And to avoid paying mortgage insurance you’ll need to come up with a 20 percent down payment, which adds up to more than $115,000. (source: https://www.bankrate.com/real-estate/housing-market/denver-co/#buying)

Average salary in Denver is $78K. (source: https://www.payscale.com/research/US/Location=Denver-CO/Salary)

Sucks that this is the new normal somehow...

I don't think the housing cooling down is going to be for a long term. Sure the interest rates are high, and housing has gotten more expensive. However, I think a factor that doesn't get discussed is house building costs.

I'm currently shopping for insurance and realized the cost to re-build per square ft is ~$330, and that was based on the Louisville fires so it's recent. If your house is 1,750 sq ft, that's $577,500... So, you're technically buying a house for cheaper than it costs to build.