Crested Butte Market Update · September 2026

Wet September, Hot High-End Sales and a Buyer's Market for Mt. Crested Butte Condos

By Melanie Macartney, Broker Associate, REALTOR® · Signature Properties Ebner & Associates

Rain, Rain and More Rain

No one is complaining here with the wettest September I can recall. Is the super El Niño actually going to deliver and redeem last year's missing winter? We'll find out soon enough.

The leaf peeping has been beautiful, and it looks like the peak could be this weekend along with some sunnier days. I'm hiking to Aspen on Saturday, so that will be gorgeous.

The High End of the Crested Butte Market Is Heating Up

As we head into the short fall off-season, the high end of the Crested Butte real estate market is heating up. In just the last three weeks, we saw:

• A $25 million, 125-acre ranch go under contract
• A $14.25 million estate go under contract
• A $6.995 million architectural beauty on Coal Creek go under contract

Rates above 7% have cooled the lower end of the market, but as always, homes that are priced right are still selling. Call me if you want to talk about what "priced right" looks like for your home.

Mt. Crested Butte Condos: 2021 to 2026

Next in my series on each micro market in the valley, let's look at what's happening with condos in Mt. Crested Butte.

Since January 2021, 539 condos have sold in Mt. Crested Butte for a total of $342 million. The median sale price has climbed 53%, from $475,000 in 2021 to $725,000 in 2026, with a 96.9% sold-to-original-list-price ratio.

Here's the part buyers should pay attention to: Mt. CB condos have about 14 months of inventory, which makes it a buyer's market by the standard measure. Anything over 6 months counts as a buyer's market. So, buyers out there, let's get something under contract before ski season. There's lots of room to negotiate!

How About Those Broncos!

What a game on Sunday night...

The Strongest Housing Market Ever

Source: HousingDaily

I attended a real estate conference in Denver last week, and it was fantastic, so incredibly informative. The one thing that struck me most was learning just how vast the housing market in the USA is.

$49 TRILLION make up the U.S. housing market (what?!), and of that, $35 trillion is equity and only $14 trillion is debt. On top of that, one prediction shared at the conference is that the median U.S. home price will hit $1 million by 2050. Right now it's about $450,000. Let that sink in.

Only one time in modern history has debt surpassed equity, and we all know how that went. This is the strongest housing market ever. Bottom line: this is not the time to sit on the sidelines and wait for something to happen. Get in it!

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it a buyer's or seller's market for condos in Mt. Crested Butte?

It's a buyer's market. Mt. Crested Butte condos have about 14 months of inventory, and anything over 6 months is considered a buyer's market, so buyers have more choice and more room to negotiate.

What is the median condo price in Mt. Crested Butte?

The median Mt. Crested Butte condo sale price is $725,000 for 2026 through September 9, up 53% from $475,000 in 2021. Median price per square foot is $713.

How do you calculate months of inventory?

Divide the number of active listings by the average number of sales per month over the last 12 months. For Mt. Crested Butte condos, that's 87 active listings divided by about 6.2 sales a month, or roughly 14 months.