How Aspen’s Once-Unstoppable Market Plummeted—in Charts

by E.B. Solomont

Following a winter with sparse snow, the once-unstoppable real-estate market in Aspen, Colo., is sliding downhill.

So far this year, home sales have been the slowest since the Covid boom, which kicked off a period of record prices and transactions in the tony ski destination. Aspen home sales dropped 32% in the first six months of 2026 compared with the same period of last year, while sales at or above $10 million plummeted 42.6%, according to Tim Estin of Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty, who tracks the market.

“We came off a really strange and unusual ski season,” said Carrie Wells of Coldwell Banker Mason Morse. “That had an effect on our real-estate market.”

Aspen’s market began to cool last year amid tariff talks and the war with Iran, real-estate agents said. Then a drought this winter impacting the Western U.S. led to record-low snowfall in the region.

Aspen got about 108 inches of snow last year—its lowest level since 1976, according to city of Aspen data.

Bar chart illustrating total home sales in Aspen for the first half of each year from 2019 to 2026.

Bar chart depicting annual Aspen snowfall totals in inches for seasons beginning 2019 through 2025.

“A poor snow year had less people in town, and real estate is a numbers game,” said Steven Shane of Compass. “If we don’t have people to show properties to, you’re not going to put things under contract.”

Overall, there have been fewer trophy sales so far this year. There is an increasing disconnect between buyers and sellers over pricing, real-estate agents said. High construction costs have led some sellers to demand a premium for new or renovated homes. But buyers are pushing back against aspirational pricing. In mid-July, billionaire Bill Koch’s 52-acre ranch—which was once asking $125 million—sold at auction for $33.515 million.

“People are just stepping back and waiting to see what happens,” Estin said.

Panoramic view of Snowmass Village, with skiers skiing at the Aspen Snowmass ski resort in the foreground and the Rocky Mountains of Colorado in the background, on a partly cloudy winter day. — Skiers in Aspen in 2020. (David A Litman/Adobe Stock)

Bar chart displaying Aspen home sales valued at $10 million or more during the first half of each year from 2019 to 2026.

Local brokers said the deeply discounted Koch sale isn’t necessarily emblematic of the market, which they said isn’t in free fall, despite tangible evidence of a cool-down. Aspen’s housing market still has more demand than supply; listing inventory is down nearly 40% since 2019.

Many properties in the $10 million to $20 million range were purchased over the past few years by people who simply don’t need to sell, said Lance Hughes of Aspen Luxury Sales. “The only way they sell is if they pay $12 million and you give ‘em $29 million,” he said.

Rustic luxury interior living room featuring log walls, a double-height stone fireplace, a second-floor loft balcony, and western-style decor. — Koch’s lodge was on and off the market for more than a decade. (Realtor.com)

Line graph tracking Aspen real-estate listing inventory for the first half of each year from 2019 to 2026.

Despite a winter without powder, the lack of inventory has helped to keep prices high.

“People are here, it’s busy,” said Mandy Welgos of Aspen Snowmass Sotheby’s International Realty. “I think we just got started with our season.”

Line graph showing the median sale price of single-family homes in Aspen from 2019 to 2026.

Brokers said well-priced homes are selling fast. A 5,300-square-foot home in Aspen’s Mountain Valley neighborhood—with a coveted swimming pool—recently went under contract within weeks of listing for $14.995 million. The owner paid $10.25 million in 2021.

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