Buying Before Selling in Colorado Springs
Program and regulatory figures verified September 19, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Colorado Springs pairs a below-average selling time with the lowest typical value of the major Front Range markets, which is the friendliest combination in the state for carrying two homes.
The numbers
Typical home value of $448,492 for the month ending August 2026, down 1.4% over the year, with a mean 50 days to pending. That is faster than the national benchmark of 53 and only slightly behind Denver at 48.
The value figure is what separates this market. At $448,492 the typical Colorado Springs home sits roughly $111,000 below Denver's and about $100,000 below Fort Collins. Lower absolute payments on both sides of an overlap make the arithmetic easier.
Why the price level matters as much as the speed
The two-payment test is an absolute-dollar test, not a percentage one. Underwriting asks whether documented income supports both housing payments at once, and a market where the typical payment is smaller means more households clear that bar.
Combine that with a 50 day mean time to pending and Colorado Springs becomes one of the more forgiving places in the state to buy before selling. The overlap is short and the payments being carried are moderate.
The one number moving the wrong way is time: days to pending rose 2 days over the year, against declines in Boulder, Greeley and Fort Collins. It is a small change, but it is a change, and the trend is worth watching if your timeline is tight.
Loan limits, and a common mix-up
El Paso County uses the $832,750 baseline conforming limit for 2026. It is not part of the Denver metro group that sits at $862,500, and it is nowhere near the mountain counties.
That distinction catches people who shop across the Front Range. A buyer comparing a Douglas County house against an El Paso County house at the same price may be comparing conforming financing against jumbo financing, with different reserve and equity expectations attached. Worth establishing early. See the jumbo page.
One local factor worth naming
Colorado Springs has a large military and veteran population, and a permanent-change-of-station timeline is not a normal move-up timeline. It is externally imposed and usually not negotiable.
We are not going to pretend that changes the underwriting, because it does not. What it changes is which structures are realistic: a fixed report date argues for structures that do not depend on the departing home selling by a particular week, which usually means carrying both payments if income allows, or renting the departing home. See the rental conversion page, and note the Colorado notice rules there.
The tax line
El Paso County's mill levy applies to Colorado's 2026 split assessment rates: 6.8% for non-school local levies and 7.05% for school levies, with 10% of the first $700,000 of actual value subtracted before the local rate, capped at $70,000. A percentage-of-price estimate will not reproduce that. If you hold the senior exemption today, model the new house without it. Background on the 10-year clock page.
Frequently asked questions
How long do homes take to sell in Colorado Springs?
A mean of 50 days to pending for the month ending August 2026, slightly faster than the US benchmark of 53 days. That figure rose by 2 days over the year, while Boulder, Greeley and Fort Collins all improved.
What is the conforming loan limit in El Paso County, Colorado?
$832,750 for a one-unit property in 2026, the national baseline. El Paso County is not part of the Denver metro group at $862,500, which catches buyers shopping across both areas.
Is Colorado Springs affordable compared to Denver?
Meaningfully so. The typical home value was $448,492 for the month ending August 2026 against $559,705 in Denver, a gap of roughly $111,000. Because the two-payment test is an absolute-dollar test, that lower price level makes carrying two homes achievable for more households.
Are Colorado Springs home values falling?
Slightly. The typical home value was $448,492 for the month ending August 2026, down 1.4% over the year, a milder decline than Greeley at 2.1% or Denver at 1.9%.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. Property tax classifications, exemption eligibility, and landlord-tenant rules change and depend on your facts; your county assessor, your CPA or a Colorado attorney, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.