Buyers have not disappeared. They have become selective.

The latest Metro Denver housing numbers tell a pretty clear story. This is not a dead market, but it is a much more selective one.

For the week of September 16–22, there were 12,387 active homes on the market across Adams, Arapahoe, Broomfield, Denver, Douglas, Elbert and Jefferson counties. At the same time, only 680 homes went pending and 680 closed. Supply rose to 4.2 months, while total showings fell to 11,606.

The shift is not simply about having more homes for sale. The bigger issue is that fewer buyers are competing for those homes.

The number sellers should be watching

One of the most useful numbers in the current market is showings per listing.

With 11,606 showings spread across 12,387 active listings, the market averaged roughly 0.94 showings per active listing for the week. That is less than one showing per listing per week.

Of course, buyer traffic is not distributed evenly. Some homes may receive several showings while others receive none. That is exactly why broad averages only tell part of the story.

The better question for a seller:
Is my home getting its fair share of the available buyer traffic?

If competing homes are receiving attention and your home is not, that tells us something. If the entire segment is quiet, that tells us something different.

It is taking more buyer activity to create a contract

The market recorded 11,606 showings and 680 pending sales. That works out to roughly 17.1 showings for every home that went under contract.

That does not mean every home receives exactly 17 showings before selling. In a selective market, the strongest listings can capture a large share of buyer activity while weaker listings receive little or none.

The takeaway is simple: buyers are looking, but they are not saying yes very often.

The market is rewarding the homes that stand out

Today’s buyers have more time and more choices than they did a few years ago. They are comparing price, condition, location, layout, updates, presentation, monthly payment and overall value.

And they are willing to pass.

That is why pricing strategy matters so much right now. A price reduction should not be viewed simply as lowering the price. The real question is whether the change produces a change in buyer behavior.

• Does showing activity increase?
• Does the property move from being ignored to being considered?
• Does it generate an offer?
• Does it go pending?

That is the test.

Price reductions are getting deals done

More than half of the pending transactions in the latest Metro Denver report had experienced a price reduction before going under contract.

The average reduction among those properties was roughly $54,000, or 7.7% from the original list price to the final asking price before the property went pending.

That is significant. It shows that repositioning is not unusual in this market. In many cases, it is part of the process required to move a home from “available” to “compelling.”

A price reduction is not success by itself. A price reduction that changes buyer behavior and produces a contract is success.

What sellers should take from this market

The current market does not reward passive listing strategies. Putting a home on the market and waiting 30, 45 or 60 days before reacting can be expensive.

The better approach is to watch the competitive signals closely:

• Which listings are getting the showings?
• Which homes are being ignored?
• Which price ranges are attracting buyers?
• Which properties are going pending?
• What changed just before they went pending?
• Did a price reduction work?
• Did improved presentation work?
• Did a new competitive position work?

At Dolby Haas Real Estate, we are increasingly focused on showing activity not simply as a statistic, but as a way to understand buyer behavior in real time.

Because in this market, the homes that sell are often not the ones that simply wait the longest. They are the ones that adjust first, compete harder and become the obvious choice.

Bottom line

Buyer activity remains selective. The average listing is receiving less than one showing per week, and it currently takes roughly 17 showings across the market to produce a pending sale.

There are still buyers. But they are choosing carefully.

For sellers, that means preparation, positioning and pricing matter more than ever.

Dolby Haas Real Estate
Market commentary based on current Metro Denver market and showing activity data for September 16–22, 2026.