Denver-area home sales fell 20.6% in October as affordability index dropped
Pending deals and listings also declined, while a separate local analysis pointed to mortgage costs and affordability pressures as factors in the slower market.
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Denver-area home sales fell 20.6% year over year to 3,473 in October, while the region’s housing affordability index dropped 8.1% to 68, according to the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS®’ October market report.
The report tracks single-family homes and townhouses and condominiums listed in the REcolorado multiple listing service. The slowdown also showed up in homes under contract, down 18.7% year over year; new listings, down 9.7%; and active listings, down 11.1%. January-through-October closings totaled 41,298, a 6.1% decline from the same period in 2025.
An affordability index of 100 means median household income equals the income needed to qualify for a mortgage on a median-priced home at prevailing interest rates. The report’s index was 68 for single-family homes and 110 for townhouses and condos, indicating different affordability conditions by property type.
Prices changed less sharply than sales volume. The overall median sale price was $571,000, down 0.8% from a year earlier. The single-family median was $619,000, down 0.9%, while the townhouse-and-condo median was $392,603, down 0.6%. Townhouses and condos took an average of 71 days to sell, up 12.7% year over year; single-family homes averaged 52 days, down 5.5%.
A separate Denver-metro analysis by the Colorado Association of REALTORS® found that nearly 64% of October sales involved seller concessions and about 49% followed reductions from the asking price. The association’s Denver County-area REALTOR® Cooper Thayer said the usual autumn slowdown was part of the picture, but October 2025 had the same seasonal pattern. He also pointed to mortgage-rate increases and affordability pressures as factors in this year’s weaker activity, the association said.
Borrowing costs were another pressure on buyers. A Denver Post report said 30-year mortgage rates rose to 7.5% in the fall after being below 6.5%, and quoted local housing professionals who said higher rates were sidelining some buyers. Those explanations come from local housing professionals; the October sales figures report activity, not a single cause for the decline.