Days on Market Keep Climbing - What the Trend Means for Colorado Springs

In June 2021, the average home in the Pikes Peak MLS region sold in 9 days. This April, we're running at 56 days. That's not a typo. The average home now sits on the market six times longer than it did at the peak of the frenzy.

That number has been climbing steadily for three years, and it's one of the more recognizable signals in real estate - most buyers and sellers have at least a general sense of how long homes are taking to sell. But the year-over-year pattern is worth looking at closely, because it tells a story that the month-to-month noise can obscure.

The trend, month by month

* April 2026 data is month-to-date. Source: elevateMLS.

The seasonal pattern is obvious - DOM drops every spring as buyer activity picks up, then climbs through fall and winter. What's less obvious is that each year's floor keeps rising.

The floor keeps getting higher

Look at the summer lows - the fastest point of each year:

Each year, the fastest the market moves is slower than the year before. The 2024 summer low of 34 days would have been a winter number in 2022. The 2025 summer low of 41 days is where spring 2024 started.

The staircase is consistent: the summer floor climbs about 7-9 days per year.

What's driving it

Three things, and they're all related:

• Inventory has expanded significantly. Active listings went from about 1,600 in early 2021 to over 4,000 today. More choices mean more browsing, more comparing, more negotiating. Buyers aren't panic-buying the first thing they see anymore - they don't have to.
• Rates changed the math. At approximately 6.10%, the monthly payment on a $450,000 home is roughly double what it was at 3%. That forces a slower, more deliberate purchase process. Buyers take longer because the financial stakes of overpaying are higher.
• Sellers haven't fully recalibrated. CPOLP is running at 96.4% - meaning sellers still tend to list 3-4% above where the market will ultimately price them. Every dollar of overprice adds days. A well-priced home in a good location still sells in 2-3 weeks. An overpriced one sits for 60-90 days before the seller adjusts.

That last point is critical. The median DOM in April is 28 days - half the 56-day average. That gap between median and average tells you the distribution is skewed: most homes sell in a reasonable timeframe, but a long tail of overpriced listings drags the average up. The overpriced listings are the "sluggish" part. The correctly priced ones are still moving.

Where it's heading

If the pattern holds - and there's no obvious reason it won't at current rate levels - here's what the trend suggests for the rest of 2026:

• April will likely finish around 52-55 ADOM, based on the current daily trajectory (we've dropped from 63 to 56 so far this month).
• The summer floor should land around 45-50 days. That follows the 7-9 day annual increase from 2025's floor of 41. Don't expect to see homes flying off the market in 2 weeks this summer - 6-7 weeks will be the new "fast."
• Winter 2026-27 will likely push ADOM into the mid-70s. January 2026 already hit 74. If seasonal deceleration follows the same pattern, we could see 78-82 days by January 2027.

What would break this trend? A meaningful rate drop. If rates fell below 6%, you'd see buyer urgency increase and DOM compress - potentially back to the 30-day range. But futures markets are pricing in modest cuts, not dramatic ones. At best, we might get back to the low 5s by late 2027. That would slow the climb, not reverse it.

What this means for decisions

For sellers: The days of listing on Thursday and reviewing offers Sunday are gone, and they're not coming back at current rates. Plan for 45-60 days on market even with good pricing. If your home hasn't generated serious interest in 3 weeks, you're probably overpriced - not unlucky. The data says so.

For buyers: You have time. Not unlimited time, but more than you think. A 56-day average means you can visit a home twice, get an inspection, negotiate terms, and still close. The pressure to waive contingencies and offer over ask? That pressure is a 2021 artifact. Use the leverage this market is giving you.

For both: Watch the median-to-average gap. Right now it's 28 vs. 56 - a 2x spread. When those numbers converge, it means the whole market is moving at one speed. When the gap is wide like it is now, it means pricing strategy is the single biggest variable in how long a home takes to sell.

Check the live market dashboard for current DOM and other daily-updated metrics.

Data sourced from elevateMLS (Pikes Peak region). Average and median days on market calculated from closed transactions within each reporting period. April 2026 figures are month-to-date as of the most recent daily snapshot. Projections are based on observed trend patterns and are not guarantees.