What time of year has the most homes for sale in Colorado Springs?

The seasonal pattern, month by month

Data as of August 2026. Figures are for the Colorado Springs metro area (El Paso and Teller Counties), single-family homes, condos, and townhomes, from Realtor.com via the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Here's how 2025 played out. "For sale" is the number of active listings during the month. "Under contract" is the number of homes that were pending, meaning a buyer and seller had signed a contract but hadn't closed yet.

2026 has followed the same shape at higher levels. Homes for sale rose from 2,694 in January to 4,315 in August.

Most homes, most new listings, and most competition are three different things

When people ask about the "best" time of year, they usually mean one of three things, and each peaks at a different time.

The most homes to choose from: late summer into early fall. Homes listed in spring and summer pile up as the season goes on, so the total count keeps climbing after new listings slow down. In 2026, it was still rising in August.

The most brand-new listings: late spring and early summer. In 2026, new listings hit their high in June, at 1,836, and had eased to 1,360 by August. If you want to see homes the day they come on the market, this is when the most of them arrive.

The most buyer competition: spring. The number of homes going under contract peaked in May in both 2025 and 2026. More buyers are writing offers at the same time, so a well-priced, well-prepared home is more likely to draw more than one.

Nationally, the pattern is similar. The National Association of REALTORS® reports that sales typically pick up in spring and summer, and that November through February are the slowest months, with January the slowest of all.

Good homes sell every month of the year

The seasonal cycle is real, but it's easy to read too much into it.

In my experience, good homes go any time of year. Across the country, about 4.06 million existing homes sold in 2025, which works out to roughly 11,000 homes a day. Colorado Springs is no different. Even in December 2025 and January 2026, the slowest stretch of the year, around 1,000 homes a month were under contract in the metro area.

Are there cycles of volume? Yes. But when you shop at the peak, you're also shopping alongside the most other buyers, and that means more competition for the best homes.

What the off-season looks like

From November through February, inventory tends to be lower, so you'll usually have fewer homes to choose from.

Whether sellers are more flexible in winter depends on the individual home, not the month. What I look at is how long the home has been on the market and how well it's positioned: its price, how well it was prepared, and how it's presented. A home that's been sitting for a while, or one that came on the market overpriced, may leave more room to negotiate. A well-priced, well-presented home can still draw strong interest in January.

Your timeline matters more than the season

For most people, the right time to buy is set by life, not the calendar: a job start date, PCS orders, a lease ending, or a school year.

My advice is to plan it all out. When you contact me early, we can build a strategy around your needs and your timeline, whether that's a PCS report date or a job start, instead of hoping the market lines up with your move.

Here's one example of how that planning works. If you start looking in March and close at the end of April, your first mortgage payment usually isn't due until June 1. That's because mortgage interest is paid in arrears: the June payment covers May's interest, and the few days of interest left in April are collected at closing as prepaid interest.

Closing late in the month doesn't delay the first payment compared with closing earlier that same month, since an early-April closing also leads to a June 1 payment. What it changes is your cash to close. You pay only a few days of prepaid interest instead of nearly a full month. Closings in the first few days of a month can work differently, so ask your lender how they'll handle your date.

How to decide when to shop

• If your move date is fixed (PCS orders, a job start), work backward from it. Your timeline sets the search window, and the season just tells you what to expect when you get there.
• If you want the widest choice and can tolerate more competition, late summer and early fall give you the most homes on the market at once.
• If you want the first look at new homes, late spring brings the most fresh listings. Be ready to move quickly, since that's when competition is highest.
• If you're flexible and value less competition, the off-season means fewer buyers. You'll see fewer homes, and negotiating room depends on each home's time on market and how it's positioned.
• If you're not sure yet, getting pre-approved and talking through your timeline early keeps your options open whenever the right home appears.

What could change the answer

The seasonal pattern holds in normal markets, but not in every market. In 2021 and early 2022, inventory in Colorado Springs was so low that the usual swings nearly disappeared, and homes sold quickly in every season.

Mortgage rates, the broader economy, and local job and military moves can all shift how many homes come up for sale and how many buyers are shopping. The pattern also varies by price range, neighborhood, and property type, so the metro-wide numbers may not match the specific homes you're considering.

When to talk with a professional

A real estate professional can show you what current inventory and competition look like in your price range and preferred areas, which the metro-wide numbers can't. A lender can confirm your pre-approval, your likely closing costs, and how your closing date affects prepaid interest and your first payment.