Market Analysis
What is a "normal" supply level in Colorado Springs?
People say the market is "back to normal" on inventory. It depends entirely on which normal you mean. Here is months of supply, the standard measure, charted since 1996, and the two very different baselines it swings between.
4.8 mo
latest full month (August 2026) · 4,988 active
5.5 mo
live right now · 5,109 active / 922 closed in 30d
5.6 mo
the long-run normal (1996-2014)
2.4 mo
the 2015-2019 "normal" people remember
The two supply figures differ by design. The latest full month (4.8 months) is August 2026's completed average, the basis for the historical series below. The live figure (5.5 months) divides today's active listings by the last 30 days of closings, so it runs a bit ahead of the monthly log and climbs into fall as closings slow. Both sit inside the balanced 4 to 6 month band.
The answer: there are two normals. For twenty years (1996-2014) Colorado Springs ran a balanced 4 to 6 months of supply. Then 2015-2021 collapsed it to ~2 months, bottoming near 1 in the 2020-2021 frenzy - the tightest, most abnormal seller's market in the record. Today's 4.8 months is right back at the long-run normal, and by the textbook 4-6 balanced range, this is a genuinely balanced market for the first time in about a decade. So yes, we are back to normal - the old normal. Against the 2-month market people got used to, today's supply is 2.0x higher. That tight market was the anomaly, not this.
The three eras
1996-2014
5.6 mo
the true long-run normal (balanced)
2015-2019
2.4 mo
extreme seller's market
2020-2021
1.2 mo
the frenzy bottom (~1 month)
August 2026
4.8 mo
back to balanced
Inventory and months of supply, 1996 to today
Bars: active listings by year (left axis). Line: months of supply (right axis). The 4-6 month band is balanced; below 4 favors sellers, above 6 favors buyers. Source: Pikes Peak MLS active inventory and closed sales.
Every year
| Year | Avg active | Sales/mo | Months of supply |
|---|
| 2026 |
4,236 |
1,160 |
3.7 |
| 2025 |
4,962 |
1,097 |
4.5 |
| 2024 |
4,121 |
1,091 |
3.8 |
| 2023 |
3,200 |
1,120 |
2.9 |
| 2022 |
2,859 |
1,455 |
2.0 |
| 2021 |
1,736 |
1,736 |
1.0 |
| 2020 |
2,211 |
1,653 |
1.3 |
| 2019 |
2,822 |
1,523 |
1.9 |
| 2018 |
2,938 |
1,491 |
2.0 |
| 2017 |
2,844 |
1,560 |
1.8 |
| 2016 |
3,324 |
1,459 |
2.3 |
| 2015 |
4,843 |
1,265 |
3.8 |
| 2014 |
6,102 |
1,059 |
5.8 |
| 2013 |
4,994 |
1,012 |
4.9 |
| 2012 |
4,813 |
856 |
5.6 |
| 2011 |
5,815 |
790 |
7.4 |
| 2010 |
4,289 |
699 |
6.1 |
| 2009 |
4,829 |
729 |
6.6 |
| 2008 |
5,935 |
694 |
8.5 |
| 2007 |
6,176 |
832 |
7.4 |
| 2006 |
5,208 |
991 |
5.3 |
| 2005 |
4,127 |
1,093 |
3.8 |
| 2004 |
4,109 |
980 |
4.2 |
| 2003 |
4,211 |
851 |
4.9 |
| 2002 |
3,780 |
813 |
4.6 |
| 2001 |
3,368 |
802 |
4.2 |
| 2000 |
2,952 |
769 |
3.8 |
| 1999 |
3,267 |
739 |
4.4 |
| 1998 |
3,608 |
711 |
5.1 |
| 1997 |
3,416 |
643 |
5.3 |
| 1996 |
2,816 |
666 |
4.2 |
Methodology. Months of supply = active listings divided by closed sales per month, the National Association of Realtors standard, computed from Pikes Peak MLS (elevateMLS) monthly active inventory and closings back to 1996. The 4-6 month band is the conventional definition of a balanced market; below 4 favors sellers, above 6 favors buyers. Figures are annual averages; months of supply is seasonal (it climbs into fall and winter and dips in spring), so read the trend rather than a single month. The "live right now" figure divides today's active listings by the trailing 30 days of closings, the same method the daily market brief uses, and runs slightly ahead of the completed monthly log. Source and analysis: Rob Thompson, Realtor, Iconic Colorado Properties. Updated September 22, 2026.
