Published October 18, 2026 in Market Update

South Fort Collins is moving faster even with rates above 7%

By Christopher Fry | Realtor

Real estate, South Fort Collins

Mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026, according to Realtor.com. Most people would expect that to slow things down. In South Fort Collins, it did not.

The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 561 homes sold across South Fort Collins in the three months ending August 31, 2026. That is up 14.5% from the same three months in 2025. At the same time, homes for sale fell 3.7% to 499. More buyers, fewer choices. That combination tends to keep sellers in a decent position, even when rates are high.

The pending sales number matters here. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 500 pending sales, up 3.7% from a year ago. Pending sales show what buyers are doing right now, not what they did last quarter. Demand is holding.

What each ZIP code is doing

South Fort Collins covers three ZIP codes: 80525, 80526, and 80528. They are telling slightly different stories right now.

80526: the fastest ZIP in South Fort Collins

ZIP 80526 stood out in the three months ending August 31, 2026. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 169 homes sold, up 20.7% from 2025. The median sale price rose 7.4% to $569,000. That is the strongest price growth of the three ZIPs. Homes sat on the market a median of 42 days, and the sale-to-list ratio hit 99.5%.

Nearly half of all 80526 listings went under contract within two weeks. That is up 2.4 points from a year ago, per the Real Estate Data Aggregator. If your home is priced right and shows well, two weeks is a realistic timeline in this ZIP.

80528: tighter inventory, faster pace

ZIP 80528 carries the highest median price in South Fort Collins. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put it at $675,000 for the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 0.4% from 2025. Sales jumped 21.2%, but the bigger story is supply. Homes for sale dropped 22.8% to 122. That pushed months of supply down to 2.3, the tightest of the three ZIPs.

Homes in 80528 also moved 10 days faster than a year ago. The Real Estate Data Aggregator put the median days on market at 47, down from 57. That is a meaningful shift. Pending sales dipped 9.4%, which is worth watching, but with inventory this tight, 80528 still leans toward sellers.

80525: the most active ZIP by volume

ZIP 80525 saw the most transactions. The Real Estate Data Aggregator counted 232 homes sold in the three months ending August 31, 2026, up 6.4% from 2025. The median sale price was $589,500, up 1.8%. Days on market came in at 46, four days shorter than a year ago.

19% of 80525 homes sold above list price. That is up 4.3 points from a year ago. It does not mean every home gets a bidding war. It means the right home, priced correctly, has a real chance of getting there.

What about rates?

Mortgage rates topped 7% in September 2026, according to Realtor.com. The Federal Housing Finance Agency reported that U.S. home prices rose 2.6% from July 2025 to July 2026, so prices nationally are still moving up, just slowly. Fannie Mae, as reported by CNBC, forecasts the 30-year fixed rate at 7.5% for all of 2027. Rates are not dropping soon.

That context matters. Buyers in South Fort Collins are not waiting for rates to fall. They are buying anyway. That tells you something about local demand. It also means sellers cannot rely on rate-driven urgency to cover up a weak price or poor presentation.

One thing worth saying: these numbers cover whole ZIP codes. One street, one subdivision, or one price range can read very differently from the ZIP average. The only way to know where your home sits is to look at the homes closest to yours.