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Colorado Home Sales Fall 19% in October as Buyers Balk at High Costs
Colorado home sales dropped 19% year-over-year in October, with the Denver metro seeing a 21% plunge, as high housing and financing costs sideline buyers and force sellers to offer concessions.
Colorado's housing market cooled sharply in October, with statewide home sales falling 19% from a year earlier to 6,079 transactions, according to the latest report from the Colorado Association of Realtors. Pending contracts also dropped 17%, signaling further weakness ahead.
The decline was far steeper than the average 4.2% drop seen through the first 10 months of 2026, underscoring a loss of momentum as the year ends. The statewide median sale price slipped 1% to $545,000, offering little relief to buyers. New listings fell 8.9%, and active inventory was down 2.4% to 33,455 properties.
The slump was even more pronounced in the seven-county Denver metro area, where October home sales plunged 21% from a year earlier and pending sales fell 19%. Prices there barely budged, but sellers are increasingly sweetening deals: nearly two-thirds of sales included concessions such as help with financing or closing costs, and about 80% involved concessions, price cuts, or both. Active listings in the metro fell 10.7%, suggesting weak demand rather than an inventory glut is driving the slowdown.
"Many sellers continue to put greed in front of logic and buyers continue to put personal finances in front of home purchases," said Patrick Muldoon, a Colorado Springs-area real estate agent. "In the middle is an entire industry getting iced out of what was once a very busy market."
In Colorado Springs, home sales dropped nearly 10% from a year ago, even as active listings ticked up 2% and median prices barely moved. Experts say the disconnect between sellers' expectations and buyers' budgets is pushing would-be homeowners toward renting instead.
The squeeze is particularly acute for condos and townhomes, traditionally a more affordable entry point to homeownership. In metro Denver, these properties averaged 71 days on the market, compared with 52 for single-family homes, and carried 6.2 months of inventory versus 3.9. Rising HOA fees, insurance premiums, and other recurring costs are adding to buyers' burdens.
"The challenge heading into 2027 is not simply restoring confidence in home prices. It is restoring enough affordability and mobility for the housing market to function at a healthier level of activity," said Denver-area agent Cooper Thayer.
While home sales typically slow this time of year, October's decline was far sharper than the seasonal norm, leaving the market on uncertain footing as it heads into the new year.