Should You Buy a Home in Monument, CO Now or Wait? Fall 2026 Housing Market
From the desk of Stephanie Lee
If you’re thinking about buying a home in Monument this fall, you’ve probably asked some version of the same question I’m hearing more often lately:
Should I buy now, or wait?
Mortgage rates have fluctuated, some sellers have had to adjust their price while others priced correctly from the start, and depending on where you look online you can get very different impression of what’s happening in the Monument housing market. With all of that information coming at buyers, it’s understandable to wonder whether buying now makes sense or whether waiting might put you in a better position.
The answer is going to be different for every buyer. Some people need to make a move because of a job, a PCS, a growing family or another life change. Others simply want to own a home and are trying to decide when the timing makes sense for them. There are also buyers who would genuinely be better served by waiting.
That’s why I think the better question isn’t simply “Should I buy now or wait?” It’s “What are you waiting for, and would waiting actually put you in a better position?”
For some Monument buyers, fall 2026 may offer something lower mortgage rates alone can’t guarantee: more room to be selective and opportunities to negotiate the individual house. For others, waiting may absolutely be the better decision. The numbers can help us understand the market, but the decision still has to make sense for the person buying the house.
What the Monument housing market actually looks like right now
For this analysis, I’m using Pikes Peak MLS data for single-family homes in Monument, Colorado. That matters because I don’t want to mix Monument city data with ZIP 80132, Colorado Springs, all of El Paso County, condos, townhomes or other property types and pretend they’re all the same market.
Here’s what August looked like:
Monument single-family homes | August 2026 | August 2025 | Change |
Active listings | 263 | 279 | Down 5.7% |
Median sale price | $732,000 | $705,000 | Up 3.8% |
Median days to sell | 17 | 29 | 12 days faster |
Sale-to-list price ratio | 98.7% | 98.4% | Slightly higher |
Source: Pikes Peak MLS, Monument city, single-family homes, August 2026 compared with August 2025.
One important note on that $732,000 median sale price: it does not mean every Monument home went up 3.8% in value. Median prices can change based on the mix of homes that sold that month. To me, this is exactly why you have to look deeper than one headline or one statistic. The Monument market has a lot of moving pieces right now, and what’s happening with one home, neighborhood or price point can look very different from another.
Inventory tells another interesting part of the story.
Monument buyers have more choice than they did a few years ago
August 2026 actually had slightly fewer active single-family listings than August 2025. But look a little farther back:
August | Active Monument single-family listings |
2021 | 79 |
2022 | 154 |
2023 | 151 |
2024 | 229 |
2025 | 279 |
2026 | 263 |
Source: Pikes Peak MLS, Monument city, single-family homes.
That’s one of those details that gets lost when people simply say, “Inventory is down from last year.” Yes, it is. But buyers still have more than three times the active single-family inventory they had in August 2021.
As a Colorado native who has worked in this area for years, the difference in the buying experience is noticeable. More inventory doesn’t mean buyers should drag their feet. A good home that is priced correctly can still move quickly. What the additional choices can give buyers is a better opportunity to truly compare the pluses and minuses of different homes (location, condition, lot, floor plan, updates and price) and figure out which one is actually the best fit. That’s very different from the extremely tight-inventory years when buyers often had very few options to compare.
So why are we seeing so many price reductions?
This is where the market gets more interesting.
Redfin reported that 45.1% of Monument listings had a price drop in its July 2026 data. Redfin’s Monument numbers include all home types, so I would not treat that percentage as a Monument single-family statistic. It does tell us that price reductions are very much part of the current local market.
Broader El Paso County data tells a similar story. The Colorado Association of REALTORS® reported that 50.7% of active El Paso County listings had experienced a price reduction in June 2026. Again, that’s countywide data, not Monument-specific.
A price reduction doesn’t automatically tell us how motivated a seller is. Sometimes the home simply started above where buyers saw the value and the seller has now adjusted to a price that makes more sense. Other homes are priced correctly from the beginning and never need an adjustment.
That’s why I want to understand the pricing history of the individual house rather than make assumptions based on a market-wide percentage.
The three prices I want a Monument buyer to know
When I’m evaluating a house with a buyer, I’m looking at three different numbers:
Price | What it tells us |
Original list price | Where the seller started |
Current list price | How much the price has already adjusted |
Final sale price | Where the buyer and seller ultimately agreed |
Here’s a simple example. A seller lists a home at $800,000. It doesn’t sell, so they reduce it to $750,000. A buyer eventually purchases it for $742,500.
The final sale is technically at 99% of the current asking price, but that doesn’t tell the whole story. The seller started at $800,000 and ultimately sold more than 7% below that original price. Some of the negotiation happened between the seller and the market before the buyer ever wrote an offer.
That’s why I don’t look at a 98% or 99% sale-to-list ratio and automatically assume there’s no negotiating room. I want the whole pricing history. Where did the seller start? How long has the home been sitting? How many reductions have there been? What actually sold around it, and what is sitting nearby right now?
And maybe most important: Why is this particular house still available?
Two Monument homes listed at $750,000 can be completely different negotiations. That’s why I don’t believe there’s one canned strategy that works on every house.
What about mortgage rates?
This is probably the biggest reason buyers tell me they’re waiting, and I get it.
According to Freddie Mac, the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate was 6.71% as of September 3, 2026, up from 6.66% the week before and 6.50% a year earlier.
At 6.7%, the payment matters a lot. But I usually ask a follow-up question: What rate are you waiting for?
If you tell me you’re waiting for 6.25%, that’s one conversation. If you’re waiting for 5%, that’s a completely different bet. Nobody knows exactly where mortgage rates will be six months from now. If they improve, that could help affordability, which would obviously be welcome news for buyers. It could also change buyer demand and the negotiating environment. That’s why I don’t like making the entire decision based on trying to predict one number.
When buying in Monument this fall may make sense
If you’re financially ready to buy, I think it’s worth seeing what’s out there. That doesn’t mean you have to buy something, but you can’t really know whether today’s market has the right opportunity for you without looking at the homes that are actually available.
Buying this fall may make sense if:
You find the right house. I care more about buying the right house correctly than trying to perfectly time the market.
The payment works for you today.
You expect to stay for several years. If you may need to sell again quickly, short-term market movement and transaction costs matter much more.
The property gives us something to negotiate. That might be price, closing costs, a rate buydown, repairs or timing.
Recent comparable sales support the value. Not the Zestimate. Not what the seller “needs.” Not what the neighbor says their house is worth.
Waiting doesn’t clearly improve your position. If you’re financially ready and the right house is in front of you, waiting solely for a lower mortgage rate is still a prediction.
Notice that “because I think prices are about to shoot up” isn’t on my list. Neither is “because rates are definitely coming down.” I don’t think either of those is a good enough reason to buy a house.
When waiting may be the better move
There are also buyers I would tell to wait, and I have no problem saying that.
Waiting may make more sense if today’s payment would stretch your budget, you need time to improve your credit or pay down debt, you need more savings after closing, or your job or income situation is changing. The same is true if you expect to move again fairly soon or the homes currently available simply aren’t what you want.
We work with a lot of military families relocating to this area, and that expected time in the home matters. If another PCS could realistically put you back on the move in a couple of years, that needs to be part of the buying decision too. Sometimes buying still makes sense, and sometimes it doesn’t. The PCS timeline should be part of that conversation rather than an afterthought.
I’d also be cautious if the only reason you’re buying is because you’re afraid you’re going to “miss the market.” There is no prize for buying a house three months sooner if it puts you in a worse position.
Being able to qualify for a home and being ready to own it are not always the same thing.
Where can Monument buyers actually negotiate?
This is another place where I think people focus too much on purchase price.
Sometimes price is absolutely where we push. Other times, the better win may be seller-paid closing costs, a temporary or permanent rate buydown, inspection repairs, a repair credit, closing date or possession timing. I don’t walk into every offer thinking, “We need $20,000 off.” The strategy depends on the house and the seller.
Sometimes a seller credit toward a rate buydown has a bigger impact on a buyer’s monthly payment than getting the same amount knocked off the purchase price. Sometimes the seller is much more flexible on price. And sometimes they aren’t particularly flexible on either because the house was priced correctly from day one and other buyers recognize it too.
That’s why the individual property matters more than the market label.
What online housing data can’t tell you
I use data all the time, but I also think buyers can get into trouble when they expect Zillow, Redfin or a market report to tell them everything they need to know.
Online data is very good at telling us what happened. It’s much worse at explaining why it happened.
A website can tell you a home has been on the market for 72 days. It usually can’t tell you why buyers have passed on it, how its condition compares with the homes that actually sold, whether the seller has become more motivated or whether a previous contract fell apart.
It may not tell you that a nearby builder is offering incentives that are making the resale house harder to sell. And it certainly can’t tell you exactly how much flexibility a seller might have when the right offer lands in front of them.
That’s where I think local experience still matters. Not because the data is bad, but because the data needs context.
Five questions I think Monument buyers should ask right now
1. What are truly comparable homes actually selling for?
I want recent closed sales that really compete with the house you’re considering. Same area, similar size, similar condition, similar lot and similar overall buyer appeal. Garage, basement, views and updates can all matter too.
2. What is the entire pricing history?
Today’s asking price only tells part of the story. I want to know the original price, every adjustment along the way and where comparable homes have actually sold.
3. Why is this house still available?
Buyers ask us this all the time, and sometimes they immediately assume something must be wrong with the house. That’s not always the case. We’ve seen homes sit because they started at the wrong price, and once the seller finally adjusts to where the market sees the value, the house suddenly makes sense to buyers.
Had it been priced there from the beginning, the story might have looked completely different. So when I see longer market time, I don’t automatically see a problem or automatically assume we have leverage. I want to understand why it’s still available before deciding what that means for our offer.
4. What can we negotiate besides price?
Price is only one part of an offer. Depending on the property and the seller, there may be other terms that create more value for the buyer.
5. What exactly are you waiting for?
This may be my favorite question.
If you’re waiting to strengthen your finances, that makes sense. Waiting for the right house also makes sense. But if the entire plan is based on knowing mortgage rates will be dramatically lower next spring, that deserves a much deeper conversation.
So, should you buy a home in Monument now or wait?
For someone who is financially ready to buy, I think the decision becomes much more personal: Can you find what you want and need in the Monument market right now, and does the payment make sense for you?
It doesn’t hurt to go take a look. We do that with buyers all the time, especially when they’re unsure whether now is the right time. Sometimes seeing what’s actually available helps someone realize they’re ready to make a move. Other times, it confirms that waiting makes more sense.
I also think this conversation should include a lender early on. Before deciding what price range makes sense, you need to understand what those numbers actually mean for your monthly payment. I always tell buyers to let the payment help dictate the size of the house they want or need, rather than starting with the biggest purchase price they can qualify for.
Once you know your numbers, go see what those numbers actually buy. If you find the right house, then we can dig into the pricing history, recent comparable sales and where there may be room to negotiate.
The opportunity in Monument right now may not be buying “the market.” It may be buying the individual house correctly.
This is what we do
At Lee & Associates Real Estate, we’re never going to tell someone it’s “always a great time to buy.” We’re a family-run boutique brokerage, and our business is built on long-term relationships, not simply getting someone to closing.
Sometimes our advice is to move on the house. Sometimes it’s to negotiate harder. And sometimes it’s to wait. The goal isn’t simply to buy a house. It’s to buy the right house and make sure the deal makes sense for you.
If you’re trying to figure out where you’d actually land in this market, that’s a conversation worth having before you fall in love with a house. We can look at what’s available in the price range that makes sense for your payment, compare recent sales and talk through what you’re seeing. Sometimes that leads to buying now, and sometimes it confirms that waiting is the better decision.
Service you deserve, people you trust.
Sources
Pikes Peak MLS — Monument city, single-family residential data, August 2026 and historical August comparisons. Primary local data source for this article.
Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey — September 3, 2026. National mortgage-rate context.
Colorado Association of REALTORS® — June 2026 El Paso County price-reduction context.
Redfin Monument Housing Market — July 2026 broader Monument market context; Redfin includes all home types.
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