Market Update, February 26, 2026

Interest Rates

Rates Hit a Notable Milestone

Mortgage rates briefly crossed below 6% this week for the first time in roughly three years — touching 5.99% on February 23 according to Mortgage News Daily before settling back to 6.01% today. Freddie Mac’s most recent survey put the 30-year fixed at 6.00% as of February 19, down from 6.09% the prior week and well below the 6.85% recorded a year ago. That dip below 6%, even briefly, is a meaningful psychological threshold, and it’s drawing some buyers back to the table.

The movement is welcome news. But it’s not the biggest story in the Denver market this week.

Market Conditions

Four in Ten Homes Have Already Been Reduced

A Realtor.com report released February 20 found Denver ranks in the national top 10 for repeated price reductions — nearly 16% of active listings had been cut at least three times in January, versus a national average of 10.7%. But the local data is even more telling.

A review of current active listings across four core metro counties shows that roughly four in ten homes on the market today have already had their asking price reduced at least once:

That’s not a market in panic — but it is a market in an honest conversation with itself.

January DMAR Data

The Numbers Behind the Trend

January’s DMAR data provides the context. Closed sales totaled 1,919 — one of the lowest monthly figures since 2008. Active inventory climbed to 8,228 homes, up 7% year-over-year and unusually high for a month that typically contracts. The median days on market stretched to 70 days, 13 days longer than a year ago. The average close-price-to-list-price ratio slipped to 97.94%, down from 98.50% in January 2025 — meaning sellers are now conceding more off their list price than at any point in recent years.

The attached segment — condos and townhomes — faces additional pressure. Rising HOA fees driven by climbing insurance premiums are suppressing buyer interest in that category specifically, extending time on market and creating conditions for steeper reductions.

Market Mechanics

Why So Many Reductions? The Lock-In Effect Meets Market Reality

Sellers arriving to market often anchor to valuations from 2021 or 2022 — peak years the current market no longer supports. Compounding the adjustment: new ATTOM data shows Denver metro homeowners are now staying in their homes an average of 8.5 years, the longest tenure on record going back to the early 2000s, when the average was just one year. Those who are listing tend to be sellers with genuine life circumstances requiring a move. That group naturally tests the market at an optimistic price first.

The result is a pattern visible across hundreds of current listings: initial price, no contract, first reduction, no contract, second or third reduction. It is ultimately a healthy process — but it takes time, and it has consequences for net proceeds.

What This Means

For Buyers and Sellers Right Now

Data: DMAR Market Trends Report (January 2026)  ·  Realtor.com (February 20, 2026)  ·  Freddie Mac PMMS (February 19, 2026)  ·  Mortgage News Daily (February 26, 2026)  ·  ATTOM via Axios (February 10, 2026)  ·  REcolorado (February 2026)