October 2026 market update

More inventory, more room to negotiate, and the slowest September for closings since 2008

Rates finally picked a direction in September, and it was not the one buyers wanted. Here is what that did to the Greater Denver Metro market, and what it sets up for the fourth quarter.

Published October 4, 2026 · September 2026 data · every figure checked against the source report

Map of the fifteen Colorado Front Range counties served by this market update

Greater Denver Metro · September 2026

Greater Denver Metro

Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Broomfield, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Elbert, Gilpin, Jefferson, Park counties. Statistics published by the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS from REcolorado data.

September closings came in at 2,849, down 11.71 percent from August and 21.39 percent from a year ago. That is the fewest September closings on record going back to 2008. The important caveat is timing: most homes that closed in September went under contract in August, when the 30-year fixed was near 6.7 percent. Through September it climbed every week and finished the month around 7.5 percent, and mid-month the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate for the first time since July 2023.

So September’s closings are a picture of August. Pending sales, at 2,908 and down 6.07 percent, are the first real read on the rate move, and that is a measured pullback rather than a retreat. The fuller effect lands in October and November closings.

Closed sales

2,849

fewest September closings on record dating back to 2008

-11.71%vs Aug-21.39%vs Sept 2025

Active listings

13,567

at month end

Median days in the MLS

32

Down from 35 days a year ago

3 days fasteryear over year

Months of inventory

4.76

All homes. Condos and townhomes sit at 7.21

Pending sales

2,908

The first read on September rate moves

-6.07%vs Aug

Close price to list price

98.45%

Up from 98.32% last September

+0.13 ptyear over year

For buyers, the arithmetic has improved. Inventory finished the month at 13,567 active listings and 4.76 months of supply. Condos and townhomes offer the most leverage of all: 7.21 months of inventory and a median close price of $365,500, down 6.28 percent year over year. If you are buying in that segment, price it with HOA dues and insurance in the same breath as the mortgage.

Median days in the MLS is climbing through the second halfGreater Denver Metro, all property types. Each point is a figure DMAR published; the dashed line is last September.
Median days in the MLS is climbing through the second halfSept 2025: 35 daysJuly 2026: 21 days21 daysJuly 2026Aug 2026: 27 days27 daysAug 2026Sept 2026: 32 days32 daysSept 2026

Source: DMAR. July and August as published in the August 2026 report; September as published in the September 2026 report.

View the data
MonthMedian days in the MLSAs published in
July 202621August 2026 report
Aug 202627August 2026 report
Sept 202632September 2026 report
Sept 2025 (reference)35September 2026 report
Condos and townhomes carry half again as much inventoryMonths of inventory at the end of September 2026.
Condos and townhomes carry half again as much inventoryAll homes: 4.76 mo4.76 moAll homesCondos and townhomes: 7.21 mo7.21 moCondos and townhomes

Source: DMAR September 2026. A detached-only figure was not published, so it is not shown.

View the data
SegmentMonths of inventory
All homes4.76
Condos and townhomes7.21

Since 2023, year-to-date closings have stayed within roughly six percent of one another and the overall median price within about three percent. The year-to-date median close price for detached homes is $650,000, matching each of the past two years. Year-to-date closings trail 2025 by 4.96 percent, a gap that has widened since August.

As October begins, the fourth quarter tends to reward buyers who keep moving while others wait for a fresh start after the New Year. Active listings typically taper through the fourth quarter, and some sellers will pull their homes for the holidays. Buyers who remain in the market will face less competition than at any other time of year.

Amanda Snitker, Chair of the DMAR Market Trends Committee and Metro Denver Realtor

The $1 million and above segment

The top of the market is not waiting for conditions to improve

Denver Metro, properties sold at $1 million or more.

While overall year-to-date sales are down 4.96 percent, the $1 million-plus segment is up 1.99 percent with 4,449 closed sales so far this year. Volume in the segment is up 3.17 percent to $7.30 billion, barely shy of its 2022 peak. New listings jumped 12.15 percent month over month, which reads as seller confidence, and buyers are not lingering: a median of 21 days in the MLS against 32 for the broader market, and 19 days for detached homes.

The top of the market is going the other wayYear-to-date closed sales against the same period in 2025.
The top of the market is going the other wayAll homes: -4.96%-4.96%All homes$1M and above: +1.99%+1.99%$1M and above

Source: DMAR September 2026.

View the data
SegmentYear-to-date closed sales vs 2025
All homes-4.96%
$1M and above+1.99%
Million dollar homes are selling faster than the market as a wholeMedian days in the MLS in September 2026.
Million dollar homes are selling faster than the market as a wholeWhole market: 32 days32 daysWhole market$1M+ all: 21 days21 days$1M+ all$1M+ detached: 19 days19 days$1M+ detached$1M+ attached: 23 days23 days$1M+ attached

Source: DMAR September 2026.

View the data
SegmentMedian days in the MLS
Whole market32
$1M and above, all21
$1M and above, detached19
$1M and above, attached23
Every luxury attached band is up year to dateYear-to-date closed sales growth, attached homes priced at $1 million and above.
Every luxury attached band is up year to date$1M to $1.5M: +5.60%+5.60%$1M to $1.5M$1.5M to $2M: +5.41%+5.41%$1.5M to $2M$2M and above: +11.11%+11.11%$2M and aboveAll $1M+ attached: +6.35%+6.35%All $1M+ attached

Source: DMAR September 2026.

View the data
Price bandYear-to-date closed sales growth
$1M to $1.5M+5.60%
$1.5M to $2M+5.41%
$2M and above+11.11%
All $1M and above attached+6.35%

When you have room to maneuver, you can make a move, and right now Denver’s $1 million-plus market has plenty of it.

Michelle Schwinghammer, DMAR Market Trends Committee member and Metro Denver Realtor

September’s highest-priced detached sale was 31 Albion Place, Castle Rock, more than 10,000 square feet, at $7,400,000 after 44 days, in cash. The highest attached sale was 500 Adams Street, Cherry Creek North at $4,300,000, also cash.

Pricing and negotiation

What the close-to-list ratio is telling us

At 98.45 percent, the close-price-to-list-price ratio is actually a touch firmer than last September’s 98.32 percent. Sellers are not capitulating on price. What they are doing instead is paying for the gap in other currency, and with rates in the sevens that is where the negotiation has moved: rate buydowns, seller-paid concessions and adjustable-rate structures are all live at the table right now.

Sellers are holding a slightly firmer line on price than a year agoClose price as a percentage of list price.

September 2025September 2026

Sellers are holding a slightly firmer line on price than a year agoClose price to list price September 2025: 98.32%98.32%Close price to list price September 2026: 98.45%98.45%Close price to list price

Source: DMAR September 2026.

View the data
PeriodClose price to list price
September 202598.32%
September 202698.45%

Updating soon

Colorado Springs and El Paso County

September figures for Colorado Springs and El Paso County are being verified against the source report and will be posted here by October 13. The numbers are published, but we check every figure against the original before it goes on this page, and we would rather leave a gap than print something unverified.

Expected on this page: October 13, 2026.

Updating soon

Boulder, Larimer and Weld counties

September figures for the northern Front Range are not published yet. The Colorado Association of REALTORS releases county-level September data on October 12. We would rather leave a gap than print an estimate.

Expected on this page: October 12, 2026.

What this means for you

Heading into the fourth quarter

If you are buying

  • You have 13,567 active listings and 4.76 months of supply to work with, and competition thins out through the holidays.
  • Condos and townhomes are where the leverage is: 7.21 months of inventory and a median of $365,500.
  • Ask about structure, not just price. Rate buydowns and seller-paid concessions are the live negotiation right now.
  • Underwrite the attached segment with HOA dues and insurance included, not bolted on afterward.

If you are selling

  • Homes are taking 32 days at the median, up from 21 in July. Price to today, not to July.
  • The close-to-list ratio held at 98.45 percent, so a well-priced home still gets close to asking.
  • Build buydowns and concessions into the pricing strategy up front. Snitker’s point is that those sellers find a ready audience.
  • Above $1 million the picture is different again: new listings up 12.15 percent and a 21-day median.

Want to know what this means for your address?

Metro-wide numbers set the backdrop. What your home is worth, or what you can buy, comes down to your street, your price band and your timing. Grab a slot and we will walk through it.

Book a free strategy call

Sources and method

Where these numbers come from

Every figure on this page is read off the published source report and checked before it goes up. Where a region’s data is not out yet, or is still being verified, we say so and name the date rather than printing an estimate. We do not build back-series by working backwards from percentage changes. Months of inventory for the detached segment, the overall September median close price and the overall new-listings count were not published by DMAR this month, so they do not appear here.

Mike Rush · Your Colorado Real Estate Guide