Summit County’s real estate market continues to settle after a pandemic-era boom that drove record sales times, reshaped buyer behavior and accelerated demand for luxury properties.

While some local real estate agents describe current conditions as balanced or even buyer-leaning in parts of the market, others point to uneven performance across price tiers, longer days on market and rising inventory as signs of an always-fluctuating and cooling — but not collapsing — market. 

The result is a market in transition.

---

---

Dana Cottrell, a longtime real estate agent with Summit Resort Group, described the COVID-era surge as a sudden acceleration in both listings and demand, driven by shifts to remote work, lifestyle migration and lowered interest rates. 

“We were kind of humming along, maybe going down a bit in the number of sales, and then COVID hit,” Cottrell said. “All the listings (from) people that ever thought they wanted to sell just all started to hit the market and sell.”

---

---

That surge peaked in 2022 and again in the summer of 2024 before beginning to unwind. 

“Around 2023 going into 2024, it sort of hit that bottom of the number of sales, and it has kind of been going up ever since,” Cottrell said, adding that excluding the pandemic spike, “you probably have a pretty steady stream.”

Even so, she said the market has not fully returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“We still are behind where we were pre-COVID,” Cottrell said. “There still aren’t as many sales.” 

Leah Canfield, a premier luxury real estate agent with Coldwell Banker Mountain Properties based in Frisco, pointed to similar forces behind the boon: stimulus-driven liquidity, ultra-low interest rates and an influx of buyers seeking mountain markets and an outdoor lifestyle during the pandemic.

“There was a big capital injection with things like stimulus, and there was a return to the outdoors with COVID,” Canfield said. “People from urban centers were all of a sudden flocking to our area.”

That demand pushed interest rates sharply higher through 2022, and Canfield said those increases have yet to slow. 

“They’ve lingered higher than people were expecting for longer than they were expecting, and that has certainly affected our market now,” Canfield said of interest rates both countywide and nationwide. “The amount of appreciation we saw during COVID is really not sustainable.” 

Buyer’s market or even playing field?

The two local real estate agents disagreed as to whether Summit County has truly shifted into a “buyer’s market” over the last couple years, or whether conditions simply reflect normal market fluctuations following the extreme volatility of COVID.

Cottrell said the answer depends heavily on geography and price tier.

“A lot of people are feeling like we’re in a buyer’s market right now,” she said. “And it’s like, well, it depends on the neighborhood.”

Cottrell pointed to longer days on market as evidence of a broader market slowdown. Countywide, average time to sell has climbed to roughly 78 days, compared with as few as 15 days during the height of the pandemic surge.

“It’s definitely taking longer to sell things,” Cottrell said. 

But Canfield argued that the market has tilted toward buyers due to supply and affordability pressures. 

“Our market has softened,” Canfield said. “That’s a gentle way of saying our market is down. There are fewer buyers than there are sellers in our market right now.”

That imbalance, she said, has changed the dynamic of negotiations between prospective buyers and sellers.

“Buyers are really looking at a lack of affordability right now, so that has really shifted the buyer-seller dynamic in our market.”

Cottrell added that sellers who still expect pandemic-era pricing are often forced to adjust. She said she’s recently had to meet with sellers to encourage the to update their home, whether it be adding stainless steel appliances or new hardwood flooring, in order to compete with demand. 

“We’re seeing properties sit on the market longer and sellers are having to make some sacrifices to make due,” Canfield said, noting that sellers are increasingly reducing prices or offering concessions in negotiation. 

Still, Canfield cautioned against broad generalizations, saying conditions vary significantly depending on the segment of the market. Historically, she said, the luxury market has always had longer timelines, but even lower-tier homes are now behaving more like mid-market listings.

“We’ve always had more of an even balance of buyers to sellers in that $2 million price point,” Canfield said. “But right now, we’re seeing a pretty even balance for days-on-market for properties over and under $1.5 million.”

Luxury market remains resilient despite cooling trends

Canfield said demand for luxury homes has continued to rise over the past three years, even as broader affordability pressures intensify.

In the last 12 months, 37 homes in Summit County have sold at over $5 million, compared with 26 the previous year and 20 the year before that, according to Canfield.

“We’re seeing an increase in demand for luxury homes,” she said.

Canfield said most of those buyers are second-home owners and not full-time residents of the county. 

“I would say that most of those buyers are not here full-time,” Canfield said.

More than half of those luxury sales involved new construction over the last six years, Canfield added. 

Cottrell cautioned that activity at the very top end of the market can be misleading due to small sample sizes. For example, she said, over the past year, four homes have sold above $10 million compared to three the previous year. A 33% increase can seem drastic in terms of percentage points but reflects only incremental change, she said.

“You’ve always got to take things with a grain of salt,” Cottrell said. “So, the statistics can look really dramatic, but it’s one more house.”

Wealth gap and first-time buyer barriers widening

Beyond market cycles, the real estate agents also discussed deeper structural issues that influence who can afford to buy a home in Summit County at all.

Canfield said global inflation over the past four years has widened the gap between asset holders and those trying to enter the market for the first time. 

“The folks who are first-time homebuyers … have very little if nothing invested in equities,” Canfield said. “What they have seen during this inflationary period is, all of their costs have gone up but their net worth hasn’t.”

By contrast, homeowners in the top tier of the market have seen significant appreciation in property-linked wealth. Cottrell said that dynamic has pushed many entry-level buyers towards condos or townhomes — often starting around $1 million — as the only viable starting point.

“Condos are now the most affordable first-time housing,” Cottrell said. “You can start at a condo and build up your equity, build up that generational wealth.”

Cottrell added that the gap between homeowners and renters has become increasingly stark. Both Cottrell and Canfield maintain that buying property in Summit County is still a worthwhile long-term investment.

“The homeowner’s wealth, on average, is about $400,000, where a renter is about $10,000 or $11,000,” Cottrell said. “Getting in the game is really important for this next generation of buyers.”

Construction costs in the mountains

Canfield said in Summit County, it’s almost always cheaper to buy an existing house than build anew. 

Even when buyers are ready to enter the market, building new housing often presents a more expensive alternative.

Both Canfield and Cottrell attributed the high construction costs in the High Country to environmental and regulatory factors. Canfield also noted that insurance costs and homeowners association dues tied to risk classifications have also increased, impacting both affordability for buyers and home resale values.

Cottrell said she’s actively advocating for policy changes at both the state and national levels, aiming to reduce regulatory barriers to housing construction. Many of those regulations and local policies require builders to use fire-resistant materials and other resources that can withstand extreme weather events. 

“Yes, being able to build with fire-resistant materials and such absolutely makes sense, until you realize it puts it out of reach for anybody that wants to build,” Cottrell said. “We obviously want safe and habitable places being built … but it often just adds another expense.

Cottrell said the challenge lies in finding the right balance. Last year, she served as president of the Colorado Association of Realtors and this year is president of the Altitude Realtors Association serving Summit County. 

“We keep advocating and trying to find that happy middle ground for affordable, safe housing that doesn’t break the bank,” Cottrell said. 

Despite slightly divergent interpretations of current conditions, both real estate agents agreed that Summit County’s market is no longer in a phase of extremely fast growth, but it’s not in distress.

“The fundamentals of our market are still very strong,” Canfield said. “I still think owning property in Summit County is a great long-term investment strategy.” 

Cottrell said she’s eager to continue monitoring data as the summer rolls along. 

“It’s tricky right now because we’re in a bit of a transition period,” Cottrell said in April. “Now heading into the summertime, I think things are a bit more exciting.” 

Look for the newest edition of Summit County Home magazine on newsstands on May 15.