Mountain town real estate shifts to buyer-friendly market

After years of a fiercely competitive sellers’ market, Telluride, Durango and Crested Butte are experiencing a notable shift. While inventory is climbing, a cautious economic outlook and rising interest rates are prompting both buyers and sellers to recalibrate expectations.

George Harvey, a veteran of 40 years in the Telluride real estate market, describes the current period as a “transition.”
“Sellers have been in the driver’s seat since about 2020,” Harvey said, noting that prices in the region doubled to tripled since then, especially at the high end.

However, the first five months of 2025 tell a different story. While the number of sales remains within 4% of last year, the dollar volume is down a significant 28%, according to the latest Market Trends Housing Report from the Colorado Association of Realtors.
Harvey attributes the downturn in the luxury segment, homes purchased for $5 million to $10 million, to a “nervous” sentiment among affluent buyers.

“This is a group of people who are wealthy enough to fly above the storm, but they’re reading the tea leaves on the economy, and they’re concerned,” Harvey said, referencing a predicted 1.4% economic growth rate this year.
He’s seeing daily price reductions in Telluride, typically in the 5% to 10% range, indicating a growing willingness from sellers to adjust.

With high-end single-family home sales are softening, condo sales in Telluride are up 10% in both dollar amount and number of sales. This suggests a continued desire for the Telluride lifestyle, but with buyers opting for slightly less expensive homes in the $3 million to $7 million range.

In Crested Butte and Gunnison, Molly Edlridge reports a similar trend of low historical inventory but an increase in properties coming to market as summer approaches. While the number of transactions is up slightly, the dollar volume is down 11%, primarily because of fewer sales over $2 million. “We haven’t had as many sales over $2 million as we had last year,” Eldridge said. “We’re seeing prices continue to go up, not drastically but slightly. We’re going to see that stabilize.”

Prices are stabilizing, and while the market isn’t a full-blown buyers’ market, sellers who price competitively are seeing activity. Eldridge said Crested Butte and Gunnison remain more affordable compared to other ski areas, attracting those who want to use their homes rather than just invest.

Durango’s real estate market, a blend of resort, college town and local industry, is also navigating a complex landscape. Heather Erb, a Durango-area Realtor, highlights a significant increase in inventory, particularly in rural Bayfield and the Purgatory Resort area.

“When La Plata County’s real estate market slows down, we see it happen first in our outlying areas of the county and at the resort,” Erb said.

The resort area, impacted by a poor winter, has seen its single-family inventory jump from a four-month supply to 11 months year-over-year and condos from eight to 10 months.

Rural Bayfield has also seen a dramatic shift from 3.5 months to eight months of inventory, signaling a buyers’ market. Across all three mountain towns, the consensus is clear: The market is shifting.

While not a dramatic collapse, the days of rapid, over-asking sales are receding. Sellers are making price adjustments, and buyers, armed with more choices and economic caution, are taking a more deliberate approach.