Published October 19, 2026 in Market Update

Higher borrowing costs are showing up in sales pace

By Joanne Jordan

Real estate, Villages-- Greenwood & Cherry Hills-- $700+

Rates crossed 7% in September 2026, according to Realtor.com. Then, per Redfin, the weekly average hit 7.4% on October 8. That is the highest in three years. Buyers feel it. The numbers in Greenwood and Cherry Hills feel it too.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 259 homes sold across ZIP codes 80113, 80111 and 80121 in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is down 9.4% from the same period in 2025. Pending sales fell further, down 11.9%, which tells you the slowdown was still building as summer ended.

Fewer buyers and fewer sellers are both showing up. That is not a crash. It is a slower market, and slower markets reward patience and clear pricing.

What each ZIP code is doing

The three ZIP codes are telling three different stories. That is worth knowing before you pick a price.

ZIP 80121 is the tightest of the three. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put its median sale price at $801,000, up 11.3% from a year before. Homes there sold in a median of 13 days, four days faster than last year. Supply sits at just 2.5 months.

ZIP 80111 is the only one where prices dipped. The Real Estate Data Aggregator showed a median of $945,000, down 5.5%. Sales fell 19.2%. That said, homes that did sell closed at 98.2% of list, up 0.5 points. Nearly 38.2% went under contract within two weeks. The buyers who are there are still serious.

ZIP 80113 sits in the middle. Prices rose 4.5% to a median of $757,500. Days on market stretched to 27, ten days longer than last year. Inventory grew 23.3%. More competition means pricing discipline matters more here than anywhere else in this market.

The rate picture

Realtor.com reported that 20.8% of U.S. listings took a price cut in September 2026, the highest share since October 2022. That is a national figure, not a local one. But it tells you what buyers are expecting when they walk in.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported U.S. home prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026. Month over month, they rose 0.3% in July. Prices nationally are still moving up, just slowly.

Even with rates above 7%, nearly 47.1% of homes in 80121 went under contract within two weeks. In 80111, it was 38.2%, up 4 points from last year. The buyers who are active are moving when they find the right home.

What this means for you

Fewer deals does not mean no deals. It means buyers have more choices and more time. That shifts the conversation around price, condition and terms. Sellers who price to where the market actually is, not where it was two years ago, are still closing.

The data above covers three ZIP codes. One street inside any of them can read very differently. Supply, recent sales and buyer activity vary block by block. The ZIP code number is the starting point, not the answer.