State and local officials unveiled a new Web site on Wednesday that gives prospective home buyers a "one-stop shop" for locating affordable housing around Colorado.

The site - www.coloradohousingsearch.com - also is available to landlords and home sellers who want to list affordable homes free of charge.

The site represents a collaborative effort on the part of the Colorado Housing and -Finance Authority, the Colorado Department of Local Affairs Division of Housing and other agencies.

The city and county of Denver and the rural development arm of the U.S. Department of Agriculture helped develop the site.

"By working together, we can make sure that we guarantee access to people who are looking throughout the state and need to find affordable housing. We can help them do that," Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper told a news conference at the Blair-Caldwell African American Research Library.

Denver previously offered a similar site that focused on affordable housing in the city. The government agencies involved in the new site expanded the Denver site so it would cover the state.

"To have a centralized, one-stop shop for affordable housing and searching is really going to be a key," said Kathi Williams, director of the Colorado Division of Housing.

Officials hope the homeless will be among those who access the free site from computers at public libraries. The site also offers links to information about housing-related services, including financing, as well as other services such as those tied to substance abuse and child care.

The site, in English and Spanish and able to accommodate the visually impaired, has been operating for about two months. Before Wednesday's formal launch, it had received nearly 25,000 hits.

About 700 properties around the state are listed, covering some 9,000 housing units. Both rental and sale properties are featured.

Users can hunt for a listing by city or town. For rental properties, listings show the address, the monthly rent, the number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and whether the property is accessible by the handicapped.

Those interested in buying a house can conduct their search by punching in a price range, the number of bedrooms and other details such as seniors-only residences.

The site was built in partnership with Socialserve.com, a program sponsored by Non-Profit Industries.

The Charlotte, N.C.-based nonprofit develops Web software for listing affordable housing. States using the technology include Arizona, Indiana, Kansas and North Carolina.

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