How Much Leverage Do Westside Buyers Actually Have Right Now?

I had a buyer client last week ask me point blank: "Les, is this actually a good time to buy, or am I just telling myself that because I'm tired of renting?" Fair question. So let's use real numbers instead of a gut feeling.

Colorado Springs closed June with a median home price of $499,900 -- essentially flat compared to a year ago. That sounds boring until you pair it with the other half of the story: homes are taking 45 days to sell on average, a 12% jump from last June, and we're sitting on a 3.3-month supply of inventory that's stopped climbing but hasn't budged in two months either. Sellers aren't rushing to list, but the ones who did list are waiting longer for a contract. That combination -- flat prices plus slower sales -- is buyer leverage. Not headline-grabbing leverage. Quiet, real leverage.

It looks different depending on where you're shopping. In 80919 -- Rockrimmon and the foothills side of the Westside -- average prices are down close to 12% year over year. In 80904, near Old Colorado City and Garden of the Gods, prices have eased about 2%. 80906, around Broadmoor and Cheyenne Mountain, has held closer to flat. None of that means you're getting a home for a steal. It means the seller across the table is more likely to negotiate on price, closing costs, or repairs than they were two summers ago, because they've already watched the listing sit through one or two open houses without an offer.

What I'm actually telling buyers to do with that leverage

First, don't assume every listing is negotiable by the same amount. A well-priced home in move-in condition in Old Colorado City can still get multiple offers in a week. The leverage shows up hardest on listings that have already sat 30-plus days or taken a price cut. That's where I tell buyers to ask for more than just a lower price -- seller-paid closing costs, a rate buydown, or a home warranty are often easier for a seller to say yes to than chopping the number itself.

Second, rates in the mid-6% range aren't the story people think they are. They're actually down from 6.72% a year ago, and most of my clients who waited for "3s and 4s again" are still waiting. If the payment works today, a rate in the 6s with a seller concession usually beats waiting another year for a rate that may or may not show up, especially with prices in some zips already softening.

Third -- and this is the one people don't say out loud -- a meaningful share of my buyer clients this year aren't first-time buyers at all. They're Boomers and folks in their sixties and seventies who already sold a bigger place and are looking to rightsize into something smaller and easier on the Westside. For that group, the math is only half the decision. I've sat across the table from clients who were more anxious about starting over in a new neighborhood, making new friends, finding a new dentist and a new grocery store routine, than they ever were about the interest rate. That's real, and it deserves more than a passing mention. It's also exactly why I got my SRES -- Seniors Real Estate Specialist -- designation, so I can walk that transition with you instead of just handing you a listing sheet and a set of keys.

None of this means you should lowball every seller in town. It means you walk in with facts instead of anxiety, and you let the data -- not the listing agent's tone -- tell you how firm to be. That's the whole job I do for my buyers: translate what the market is actually saying into a number and a strategy you can act on with confidence.