Is Colorado Springs currently a buyer's market or a seller's market?

What "buyer's market" and "seller's market" mean

In a seller's market, there are fewer homes for sale than buyers want. Homes tend to sell faster, sellers have more room to hold firm on price and terms, and buyers often compete.

In a buyer's market, more homes are available than buyers are ready to purchase. Homes tend to take longer to sell, buyers have more choices, and there's more room to negotiate price, repairs, and concessions.

A balanced market sits in between. Neither side has much leverage beyond what the individual home and its price create.

The market is also rarely the same everywhere at once. A price range, a type of home, or a part of town can lean one way while the overall numbers lean another.

Months of inventory: the biggest single indicator

Months of inventory (also called months of supply) takes the number of homes for sale and divides it by how many homes are selling per month. The result is how many months it would take to sell everything currently listed if nothing new came on the market.

• Fewer months means homes are being absorbed quickly, which favors sellers.
• More months means homes are piling up relative to demand, which favors buyers.

Housing economists commonly treat about five to six months of supply as balanced. That benchmark is a rule of thumb, not a law, and some analysts argue a local market's own history is a better yardstick than a national number. That's why year-over-year comparisons matter (see below).

Monthly sales volume

The number of homes that actually sell each month shows how much demand is turning into closed transactions. Sales that are steady or rising while inventory holds steady point one way; sales falling while inventory climbs point the other. Volume and inventory together explain more than either one alone.

Comparing year over year

Colorado Springs has a strong seasonal pattern. More homes come on the market in spring and summer, and activity slows in winter. Comparing this month with last month can mislead you; comparing this month with the same month last year is more meaningful. See what time of year has the most homes for sale in Colorado Springs.

The question isn't just "up or down?" It's whether the change is unusual compared with the normal range the market has shown over time.

Median price vs. average price

The median price is the middle sale: half sold for more and half for less. The average is the total of all sale prices divided by the number of sales, so a handful of high-priced sales can pull it up. When the two move differently, it often says more about which kinds of homes are selling than about what's happening to a typical home's value.

Building permits: where new supply is heading

New-home permits, tracked by the Pikes Peak Regional Building Department, show where builders expect demand and how much new supply is on the way. A large pipeline of new construction can compete with resale homes, especially in growing areas on the north and east sides.

Foreclosures: a sign of stress

In Colorado, foreclosures run through the county Public Trustee. Rising foreclosure filings can signal financial stress in the market and, over time, add inventory. Low and stable filings suggest owners are generally keeping up with their payments.

How I'd think it through

It's months of inventory. That's the biggest thing. Then I look at the volume of transactions per month, and I compare both year over year, looking for whether things stay within the normal range, within a standard deviation of where they've been. No one wants negative growth, but when it happens, it can still be within the norm.

That's why a single month's headline, up or down, rarely tells you whether it's a buyer's or seller's market. The trend against the market's own history does.

Where is the Colorado Springs market heading?

No one can tell you for certain. National forecasters, including the National Association of REALTORS®, Fannie Mae, the Mortgage Bankers Association, and Zillow, publish outlooks for home sales and prices. They often disagree with each other, they revise their numbers during the year, and they're national. Colorado Springs can move differently because of military moves, new construction, and local jobs.

Rather than leaning on a forecast, I recommend watching the indicators on this page for direction:

• Months of inventory, compared with the same months last year, over several months in a row.
• Monthly sales, to see whether demand is holding up as inventory changes.
• Building permits, for how much new supply is coming.
• Foreclosure filings, as a sign of financial stress.
• Mortgage rates, which change what buyers can afford.

When several of these point the same way for several months, that's a trend. A single month is usually noise. And your own timeline matters more than any prediction: if you need to move, pricing and planning for today's market will serve you better than waiting on a forecast. See whether to buy now or wait in Colorado Springs.

What it means for you

• If you're buying: more months of inventory usually means more choices and more room to negotiate. Fewer months means being ready to act, with financing lined up. See whether to buy now or wait in Colorado Springs.
• If you're selling: in a market leaning toward buyers, pricing, preparation, and presentation matter more, because buyers have alternatives. See how to choose a listing agent to sell your Colorado Springs home.
• If you're moving on military orders: your timeline is usually set by your report date, not the market. The market affects strategy, not whether you move. See how early to start buying before a PCS to Colorado Springs.

Where to find the current numbers

• Pikes Peak Association of REALTORS®: publishes monthly market statistics for the region.
• Colorado Association of REALTORS®: publishes monthly county-level market reports.
• Weldon's monthly update: built from PPAR MLS data, with what the numbers mean for buyers and sellers. Sign up below.

What could change the answer

• Interest rates, which change what buyers can afford and how many owners are willing to sell.
• The season, which shifts inventory and sales every year.
• Price range and home type, which can behave differently from the overall market.
• New construction, which adds supply in some areas faster than others.
• Local economic news, including military and aerospace employment.

When to talk with a professional