In-Town Durango Condo Prices Look Higher. The Listings Sitting Unsold Tell a Different Story.

In September 2026, the median sale price for in-town Durango condos and townhomes hit $588,000. That is up 29.2% from $455,000 in September 2025. The same report counts 70 condos and townhomes for sale in town, up from 37 a year earlier, and puts months of supply at 7.1, up from 3.6. A higher median by itself does not show that values went up, and here supply nearly doubled in the same year.

Both numbers are accurate. The median moved because of which condos sold, not because the condos themselves are worth more. The listings piling up are mostly in the lower and middle price ranges. For a buyer comparing in-town Durango with the rest of La Plata County this fall, that is where the room to negotiate is.

The September report, line by line

Here is the in-town Durango townhouse and condo section of the Colorado Association of REALTORS Local Market Update for September 2026, which the Durango Area Association of REALTORS publishes. The data was current as of October 5, 2026.

Look at the median and the average side by side. A median is the middle sale. An average counts every dollar from every sale. When the middle jumps almost 30% while the average slips, the set of homes that closed has changed shape. Fewer of the lowest-priced units are in the mix, and that pulls the middle up even though the typical dollar spent did not grow. Only 14 condos and townhomes closed in town that month, so a handful of sales in one price range can move the median a long way. The report itself warns that one month's activity "can sometimes look extreme due to small sample size."

The year-to-date figures point the same way, just more gradually. Through September 2026, new in-town condo and townhome listings were up 25.4% to 168. Days on market until sale averaged 117, up from 78 a year earlier, a 50% increase. More listings are coming in and taking longer to sell. That is a market that has gotten softer.

Who stopped buying

The Durango Area Association of REALTORS' monthly market commentary for September 2026 describes the countywide pattern directly. Medians rose sharply "while Realtors know prices are steady or falling slightly," and the increase "has to do with the price point of what is selling and who is still able or willing to purchase given the high interest rates." Across La Plata County, the same commentary reports a significant drop in sales under $500,000, a significant increase in sales from $500,000 to $1 million, and no change above $1 million. Cash purchases rose from 40% of county sales in September 2025 to 44% in September 2026.

Rates are a big part of the story. Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey put the 30-year fixed average at 7.40% as of October 15, 2026, up from 6.27% a year earlier. A rate increase that size raises the monthly payment for any buyer who finances, while cash buyers, now 44% of county sales, are not affected by it.

For in-town Durango specifically, this matters because condos have been how many buyers got into town at all. The association's March 2026 commentary noted that in-town single-family homes "haven't had more than a handful of homes for sale at any time in years," with a year-to-date median of $940,000, while in-town condo and townhome sales rose 75% year to date at a March median of about $400,000. It described the choice for many buyers as a condo near downtown or a rural home farther from city limits. The same commentary suggested that rising insurance costs, and the HOA fees that follow them, may have kept condo buyers away in 2025. By April, it was describing a K-shaped market: buyers more active above $700,000, inventory climbing fastest in the $400,000 to $700,000 range, and buyers under $700,000 dealing with rates, "steeply rising insurance, and the higher HOA fees insurance costs produce."

So the condos that used to bring in the entry-level buyer now have fewer buyers who can afford them, and the in-town median rises as those sales drop out of the count.

The single-family median swung both ways

If the condo median were the only odd number, it might be noise. The in-town single-family median shows that this kind of figure can swing a long way on very few sales.

1. September 2024: median $950,000 on 13 sales.
2. September 2025: median $770,500 on 10 sales, down 18.9%.
3. September 2026: median $955,750 on 14 sales, up 24.0%.

The values of in-town houses did not drop by a fifth and then recover within two years. Ten to 14 different houses closed each September, and the median followed whichever houses they were. The other lines in the September 2026 report are steadier and say more. In-town single-family inventory was 39 homes, up from 27. Months of supply rose from 2.9 to 4.1. Days on market until sale reached 126, up from 93. The association noted that even in-town Durango, "where inventory is usually slimmest for single-family homes," had loosened.

Supply, time on market and the share of list price sellers receive change gradually. They are better guides to negotiating room than a median built on a dozen closings.

Where the extra supply sits, and what it means for a buyer

The in-town condo listings did not pile up slowly. The association's May 2026 commentary reported in-town condo and townhome new listings up 93% over May 2025. Sales have not absorbed them since. If most new listings land in the $400,000 to $700,000 range and buyers in that range are the ones being squeezed out, that range is where unsold units collect and where days on market grow longest.

Sellers received 98.2% of list price on the condos and townhomes that closed in September 2026. But that ratio only counts closed sales. Listings that never close are not in it. The CAR report also notes that its price figures do not account for seller concessions. In August 2026, the association described sellers in the lower and middle price ranges offering "concessions, price reductions, and more" to attract buyers. A unit that closed at 98% of its latest list price may have been cut once already and may have come with a credit at closing.

For comparison, the countywide condo and townhome median in September 2026 was also $588,000, with 8.8 months of supply. At 7.1 months, in-town condo supply is still a bit tighter than the county's, but the gap is much smaller than it was a year ago, when in-town supply was 3.6 months.

Here is what to pull on any in-town condo or townhome you are seriously considering this fall:

• This unit's own days on market and price history. In-town condo listings averaged 97 days to sell in September 2026, so a unit well past that mark has a seller who has been waiting a long time.
• Closed sales in the same price band over the last 90 days. Use these instead of the area median, which may have been set by a different kind of unit.
• The HOA's dues history and its master insurance renewal. Insurance-driven dues increases are the cost the association's commentary keeps returning to.
• Concessions in recent comparable sales. The published price figures leave out seller credits.

The HOA documents, insurance terms and financing questions on a specific unit belong with your lender, insurance agent and, where needed, an attorney. This post is general market information, not legal, tax or financial advice.

The new supply aimed at this price band is still years away

The buyers missing from the in-town condo market are the ones several city-backed projects are designed for, and none of those projects arrives this winter. The Durango Herald reported in March 2026 that Lightner Creek Commons, a planned 29-unit townhome development at 271 Twin Buttes Ave., was expected to start construction in 2026, with the first units opening in 2027 and the rest in 2028. The Durango Telegraph has described it alongside Rivergate, at 71 units, and Durango Crossings on Florida Road, at 149 units. The Telegraph reported that the first two were expected to break ground before Durango Crossings.

Proposed changes to the city's Fair Share program, including higher target incomes and allowable prices for Fair Share for-sale homes, were scheduled for Community Development Commission review on September 28, 2026. The City of Durango's housing page says City Council has to adopt them before they take effect. One statewide program already in place is aimed at part of this buyer group. The Durango Herald reported in September 2026 that Colorado's Schools to Home program, launched July 1, helps eligible public-school employees buying their first home with down payment and closing costs. Eighty-five people had used it, and the initial funding was expected to support about 125 purchases.

Through this winter, the in-town condo supply already on the market has to be absorbed by today's buyers at today's rates.

A few direct questions

Are in-town Durango condo prices actually rising? The September 2026 median rose 29.2%, but the average fell 1.5%, and the association describes prices as steady or slightly lower. The median went up because fewer lower-priced units sold.

Is in-town Durango a buyer's market for condos now? The association's commentary calls anything over six months of supply a buyer's market on paper. In-town condos and townhomes reached 7.1 months in September 2026. Conditions still vary by unit, price and condition.

Is the in-town single-family market loosening too? More slowly. Single-family supply was 4.1 months in September 2026, up from 2.9, with homes taking 126 days to sell. That is still tighter than the county's 7.7 months.

If you are looking at an in-town condo or townhome this fall, I'll pull the closed sales, days on market and concession history for that unit's price range and building, so the offer is based on those numbers instead of a median set by a different kind of property. If you own one and are deciding whether to list into this supply, start with a free home valuation from SWCO Home Sales and we'll look at where your unit sits among the listings competing with it.