FORT COLLINS MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 2026:

Nov 9

Prices held. Buyers paused. Here's what the numbers actually mean for you.

BY LAUREN SALZ · 6 MIN READ

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<p class="eb">MARKET UPDATE · NOVEMBER 2026</p>

<p class="dek">Prices held. Buyers paused. Here's what the numbers actually mean for you.</p>

<p class="by">BY LAUREN SALZ · 6 MIN READ</p>

</div>

<p>Every month, the Fort Collins Board of REALTORS® puts out a 16-page report on our local housing market.</p>

<p>Most people never see it. The few who do usually skim the headline numbers and close the tab.</p>

<p>We read every page. Then we ask the only question that matters: <em>what does this mean for the people we love helping?</em></p>

<p>That's what this is. Not a recap. Our honest take.</p>

<p style="padding-top:8px"><a class="btn btn-gold" href=”https://www.fcbr.org/assets/pdf/October+2026/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOWNLOAD THE FULL FCBR REPORT (PDF)</a></p>

</div>

<p class="eb" style="text-align:center;margin-bottom:18px">OCTOBER AT A GLANCE · SINGLE-FAMILY HOMES</p>

<div class="stat"><span class="num">$624,950</span><span class="lab">MEDIAN PRICE</span><span class="sub">up 3.3% from last October</span></div>

<div class="stat dark"><span class="num">−30.5%</span><span class="lab">PENDING SALES</span><span class="sub">123 signed contracts</span></div>

<div class="stat"><span class="num">98.7%</span><span class="lab">OF LIST PRICE</span><span class="sub">what sold homes received</span></div>

<div class="stat"><span class="num">3.2</span><span class="lab">MONTHS OF INVENTORY</span><span class="sub">balanced is 4 to 7</span></div>

</div>

<p class="serif" style="font-size:30px;line-height:1.3">Fewer homes. Fewer buyers. Prices holding steady anyway.</p>

<p style="color:#333">That's not a crash, and it's not a boom. It's a market catching its breath.</p>

</div>

<h2>Buyers aren't gone. They're doing math.</h2>

<p>Pending sales dropped 30.5% from last October. That's the number that jumped off the page for us.</p>

<p>Pending sales are signed contracts, so they're the best early signal of where buyers' heads are. And right now, plenty of buyers are sitting at the kitchen table with a calculator.</p>

<p>Here's why. The report's Housing Affordability Index for single-family homes fell to 68. In plain English: the typical household here earns about 68% of the income needed to qualify for the typical single-family home at today's rates. A year ago, that number was 77.</p>

<p>Then there's the rate-lock problem. If you're sitting on a 2.5% mortgage, why trade it for a 7% rate on a home that isn't much bigger, or much nicer? For many families, a lateral move just doesn't pencil. So they stay put.</p>

<p>Add the holidays, when everyone hunkers down, and you get a quiet fall.</p>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>Today's pending sales are next month's closings. Expect December to look slow, too. That's not a red flag. It's the season, plus math.</p></div>

</section>

<h2>Why prices are holding steady anyway</h2>

<p>If buyers are pulling back, shouldn't prices be falling?</p>

<p>Not when sellers are pulling back too. New listings were down 10.9%. Fewer people want to give up their low rate to sell, so supply is shrinking right alongside demand.</p>

<p>That's why the median single-family price actually rose 3.3%, to $624,950. Year-to-date, it's up a steady 0.8%. Homes that sold got 98.7% of their list price.</p>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>This is a stalemate, not a slide. Both sides are waiting. The people who move anyway, because life happens, are still getting fair prices on both ends.</p></div>

</section>

<h2>Median vs. average: the stat everyone misreads</h2>

<p>The median price went <em>up</em> 3.3%. The average price went <em>down</em> 6.7%. How can both be true?</p>

<div class="card"><span class="lab">MEDIAN PRICE</span><span class="num">up 3.3%</span><span class="sub">the middle sale: half sold for more, half for less</span></div>

<div class="card"><span class="lab">AVERAGE PRICE</span><span class="num">down 6.7%</span><span class="sub">a few big sales can swing it</span></div>

</div>

<p>In October, zero homes over $2 million closed. In September, three did. That alone pulled the average down.</p>

<p>But zoom out. Over the past 12 months, $2M+ single-family sales are actually <em>up</em> 22.6% (38 sales, compared with 31 the year before).</p>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>October's dip was a lull at the top, not a trend. When you see a scary headline about "falling prices," ask which number they're using.</p></div>

</section>

<p>That 98.7% of list price sounds like sellers are naming their price. Be careful.</p>

<p>The report measures sale price against the home's <em>most recent</em> list price. If a home started high, sat, and got a price cut, the 98.7% is measured after the cut.</p>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>Homes don't sell for 98.7% of what sellers hoped. They sell for 98.7% of where they ended up. Price it right the first time, and you skip the slow, expensive part.</p></div>

</section>

<h2>Where inventory is piling up (and where it isn't)</h2>

<p>This is the most useful page in the whole report, and it's buried on page 15.</p>

<div class="card"><span class="lab">$400K–$499K HOMES FOR SALE</span><span class="num">90 → 109</span><span class="sub">up 21.1%: more competition to sell</span></div>

<div class="card"><span class="lab">$700K–$999K HOMES FOR SALE</span><span class="num">123 → 100</span><span class="sub">down 18.7%: fewer choices to buy</span></div>

</div>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>If you're a move-up buyer, that's a double squeeze. The home you're selling has more competition. The home you're buying has fewer choices. That's why the strategy behind a buy/sell matters more than ever.</p></div>

</section>

<h2>Condos and townhomes: the quiet <i>O</i>pportunity</h2>

<p>Attached homes had a softer month. The median price fell 5.1%, to $403,500. New listings dropped 39.1%, and inventory sits at 3.9 months, the highest in the report.</p>

<p>But look at affordability. The townhome-condo affordability index is 105, compared with 68 for single-family homes. By the report's measure, a typical household earns enough to qualify for the typical condo or townhome here.</p>

<div class="means"><p class="eb">WHAT IT MEANS</p><p>For first-time buyers, and for anyone thinking about a future rental, this is the most approachable corner of the market right now.</p></div>

</section>

<h2>City by city: one market, three stories</h2>

<p>"The market" isn't one market. Here's how October looked in the towns we work in every day.</p>

<table>

<thead><tr><th scope="col">CITY</th><th scope="col">MEDIAN</th><th scope="col">CLOSED</th><th scope="col">DAYS</th><th scope="col">SUPPLY</th></tr></thead>

<tbody>

<tr><td class="city">Fort Collins</td><td>$672,000 <span>(+7.5%)</span></td><td>118 <span>(−29.3%)</span></td><td>70</td><td>2.9 mo</td></tr>

<tr><td class="city">Windsor</td><td>$597,500 <span>(−1.0%)</span></td><td>52 <span>(−33.3%)</span></td><td>91</td><td>3.8 mo</td></tr>

<tr><td class="city">Loveland</td><td>$522,500 <span>(−7.5%)</span></td><td>74 <span>(−11.9%)</span></td><td>67</td><td>3.4 mo</td></tr>

</tbody>

</table>

</div>

<p style="font-size:14px;color:#555">Single-family homes, October 2026 vs. October 2025.</p>

<p><strong>Fort Collins: still the tightest market in town.</strong> With 2.9 months of inventory, it's the hardest place in Northern Colorado to find a home. Single-month medians can be noisy, so we'd lean on the year-to-date number: up 1.7%, to $638,950.</p>

<p><strong>Windsor: the buyer's breathing room.</strong> The most inventory and the slowest pace of the three. Buyers can take their time and negotiate. Sellers need sharp pricing and a home that shows beautifully.</p>

<p><strong>Loveland: the quiet overachiever.</strong> Homes are selling 13 days faster than last year, and year-to-date sales are <em>up</em> 7.7%. If you want more home for your money, this is where we'd start looking.</p>

</section>

</div>

<h2 style="font-size:clamp(34px,4.5vw,44px)">What about Timnath?</h2>

<p>Timnath is our home turf, and it deserves more than a line in someone else's report. The FCBR doesn't break Timnath out on its own, so we wrote a separate deep dive.</p>

<p style="padding-top:6px"><a class="btn btn-line-w" href="PASTE-TIMNATH-LINK">READ THE TIMNATH MARKET UPDATE</a></p>

</div>

<h2>What we'd do right now</h2>

<div><strong>IF YOU'RE SELLING</strong><p>Less competition is a real advantage. Fewer listings means your home gets noticed. But buyers aren't in a hurry, so price it right on day one (remember the 98.7% trap) and make sure it shows beautifully.</p></div>

<div><strong>IF YOU'RE BUYING</strong><p>The holidays are traditionally the quietest stretch of the year. That usually means more room to negotiate and fewer people competing for the same house. Condos and townhomes especially are giving buyers breathing room on price.</p></div>

<div><strong>IF YOU'RE THINKING ABOUT MOVING UP</strong><p>Run the real numbers before you rule it out. Your rate matters, but so does your equity, your timeline, and how the buy and the sell line up. Sometimes the math surprises people. Sometimes it confirms that staying is the right call. Either way, you'll know.</p></div>

</div>

</section>

<h2>What we're watching this winter</h2>

<li><strong>Interest rates.</strong> Even a modest move changes the math for every rate-locked homeowner on the fence.</li>

<li><strong>January new listings.</strong> Listings climb again after the holidays every year. How fast they come back will set the tone for spring.</li>

<li><strong>The spring rebound in pending sales.</strong> The report's historical charts show pending sales climbing every spring. We'll be watching how strong this one is.</li>

</ul>

</section>

<p class="serif" style="font-size:34px;line-height:1.3">This market rewards preparation, not panic.</p>

<p>Behind every one of these numbers is a family deciding whether this is the year. Whether to stay, go, grow, or wait.</p>

<p>There's no wrong answer. Just the right one for <em>you</em>. And we'd love to help you find it.</p>

<a class="btn btn-line" href="/discovery-call">BOOK A DISCOVERY CALL</a>

<a class="btn btn-line" href="/home-valuation-request">WHAT'S MY HOME WORTH?</a>

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</section>

<p class="name">BRENNEN &<br>LAUREN SALZ</p>

<p class="det" style="margin-top:10px">REALTORS® & Broker-Owners<br>970-508-9948<br><a href="mailto:Hello@SalzHomeSolutions.com">Hello@SalzHomeSolutions.com</a><br>SalzHomeSolutions.com</p>

<p class="src">Source: Fort Collins Board of REALTORS® Monthly Indicators and Local Market Updates, October 2026. Data from IRES, LLC and REcolorado®; report © 2026 ShowingTime Plus, LLC. Current as of November 4, 2026. Percent changes compare October 2026 to October 2025 unless noted. Salz Home Solutions, a Northern Colorado boutique real estate brokerage.</p>

</div>

Market Update

Lauren Salz

FORT COLLINS MARKET UPDATE: OCTOBER 2026:

Prices held. Buyers paused. Here's what the numbers actually mean for you.

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