Boulder city home prices are ridiculous however the surrounding area (Louisville, Broomfield, etc) is more reasonable especially when compared to the Bay Area. However home prices along US-36 (main corridor between Boulder and Denver) are starting to increase rapidly.
In my experience, software engineering pay is plenty if you factor in the cheaper cost of living compared to Bay Area.
I hear Boulder home prices rival the Bay (while pay does not), but not sure about the surrounding areas.