Explore
What makes Old Town Fort Collins a great place to live? Get insights on places to gather, things to do, and all that makes Old Town unique.
Maintain
Owning a historic home takes some extra work and knowledge. Let me guide you through what I’ve learned over the years
Buy/Sell
Wondering what that home down the street sold for? Looking for insights on which neighborhood works best for your lifestyle? Considering selling your home? Here is your guide to buying and selling in Old Town Fort Collins
Real Estate
With an incredibly dynamic real estate market, it is more important than ever to be up to date on what makes the market tick and how to navigate it with success
Latest Posts
I have some pretty great memories of Halloweens growing up. As a kid, I was much more into the “how much candy can I get in my pillowsack” as opposed to the “I want to be scared silly” by costumes and decorations. Now that we have children who are old enough to trick or treat, I’ve become much more aware of the awesome decorations that are around Old Town, and in particular, some of the amazing decorations on Mountain Ave. It certainly seems that Mountain Ave is the unofficial Halloween destination in Old Town, and you will find a little bit of everything on many homes, but here is a collection of the more “grand” and awesome halloween decorations you might see as you cruise down Mountain Ave this year.
Every morning, I wake up at 5:30, make my coffee, write, and spend some time with my youngest daughter before trodding out the door with my german shepherd Edel. We have quite a few paths that we take, but by far her favorite is a quick and eager pull to the left towards city park. Because we are out so early, there rarely is much traffic, but the birds are already busy about their days. I hear the shrill calls of jays high up in the trees, the unmistakable “chicka-dee-dee” of the chickadee, and frequently see turkey vultures sunning themselves high up in a spruce tree, catching the early morning sun from the east.
Riding the Old Town Fort Collins is a great way to experience a timeless part of Fort Collins History.
Find yourself in need of a nature break while in the middle of downtown? Check out the Udall Natural Area next time for a bit of solitude
The Gardens at Spring Creek is one of my favorite places to visit for a calm and relaxing hour or so. With special events, plant sales, free mulch, and more, I highly recommend visiting at some point!
Looking for a great outdoor dining experience without breaking the bank? The Exchange should be on your radar then!
Old windows provide lots of charm, but aren’t so great on the efficiency factor. Heres a few ideas on how to make your older windows more efficient!
One of the most common questions I hear while showing a home is “can we blow this wall out?” With how many times I’m asked that question, I dug in a little deeper on what makes a wall load bearing and how you can remove one if it is.
Purchasing an older home comes with its extra layers of issues. I’m not saying that new built homes are necessarily perfect, because they are far from it, but code requirements, building materials, and methods of construction have certainly changed over the years
Zillow did studies you know…..45% of the time the zestimate is accurate 95% of the time.
Homes on busy roads are what I call a house hot potato. It might just be time to pass that potato while the market is still hot!
If you know how to play poker, you might be more successful in buying a home. If you don’t, these tips may help you out!
225 Park St, Listed by Alexi Rajala in Old Town Fort Collins is coming soon and will officially be on the market Thursday November 11, 2021
June definitely felt slower in listing activity from years past, and the number would support this sentiment. This month, only 14 homes came on the market compared to standout years in the 24-27 home range in 25/26’. Despite less options coming on the market, only a few homes actually went under contract this past month, which is likely subject to buyers waiting for the “perfect” option to come along. I can’t say that too many homes that were listed this last month fit that perfect moniker, with most of the homes listed falling into the “acceptable” category, provided the price is right. That leads to the last thought of this month, which is price. Now, more than ever, it seems that price is a key determiner in whether or home goes under contract or not. I’ve mentioned the concept of urgency in the market in months/years past, and the homes that I see going under contract quickly create urgency through the proper mixture of preparation, marketing, and pricing.
If you want to see the homes that were listed this month, you can get a snapshot of what happened this past month in Old Town Fort Collins in my latest blog post below!
Of course, everything should be taken with a grain of salt because the most attractive properties (both in condition, marketing, and price) still tend to fair well in this market. The other X factor is listing a home in a shortage of pricing inventory….IE when there hasn’t been good value in a price range for a while, and then a quality home is listed, it goes under contract quickly (See 126 N Mack and 1217 Sycamore for examples of this type of listing affect). As I’ve mentioned on past monthly blogs, the interest rate is making affordability tougher, so turnkey homes tend to get the most traction in the market. There is still a big gap in the $600-$900K range that is missing in our market, so that is the sweet spot on pricing if it makes sense for your home. Above $1.0 million is littered with great homes, but tons of competition as there are 20 homes active and available right now in that price segment. Looks like Goldilocks will have plenty to choose from in finding the “right bowl of porridge” in the current market!
If you want to see which bowls of porridge were listed this month, you can get a snapshot of what happened this past month in Old Town Fort Collins in my latest blog post below!
What and why does this matter? Well, market activity has definitely tapered off and it is leaving many sellers confused and looking for answers as to why their home isn’t selling as quickly as they might like, and for as much money as they might like. This is true across the market, but from what I’ve seen in Old Town, there is definitely a stall in the market above one million, unless your home meets all the best criteria for the area (see 307 Loomis Ave for an example of a home that succeeded in this past month). As a seller, having a realistic expectation on what might happen when you list your home now is going to make you much more relaxed when your property spends a bit more time on the market. You may also need to employ what I call the “Wayne Gretzky Technique” on pricing, where you “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. We’ve become accustomed to pricing home based purely on “Comps” meaning comparable sales. While this is important, getting clarity on what the competition is gives a clearer “here and now” perspective of pricing, knowing that your goal as a seller is now to pay attention to what buyers really want.
Of course, I’m happy to go into more depth on all of what I see in the market in general, and the Old Town market, but you can get a snapshot of what happened this past month in Old Town Fort Collins in my latest blog post below!
I’ve always thought that May was a standout month for homeowners to list homes across the board. Spring is in full effect, the sun is out, and with that, buyers are out in full force. However, this past may was a total dud in regards to new listings hitting the market, with just 9 coming online in Old Town. To make matters even more dire (for the supply side of the equation), of those 9 listings, only a handful were single family homes of any note.
Where does that leave us in the Old Town market? Frankly, I see opportunity in this recent lack of listings as we’ve essentially had a market pause which has allowed inventory from months past to be absorbed. We are basically starting with another lull in inventory, while there are still buyers in the market. I see the next 2 months as great opportunities for homes coming to the market, especially single family homes with not much work to be done.
Of course, I’m happy to go into more depth on all of what I see in the market in general, and the Old Town market, but you can get a snapshot of what happened this past month in Old Town Fort Collins in my latest blog post below!
What and why does this matter? Well, market activity has definitely tapered off and it is leaving many sellers confused and looking for answers as to why their home isn’t selling as quickly as they might like, and for as much money as they might like. This is true across the market, but from what I’ve seen in Old Town, there is definitely a stall in the market above one million, unless your home meets all the best criteria for the area (see 307 Loomis Ave for an example of a home that succeeded in this past month). As a seller, having a realistic expectation on what might happen when you list your home now is going to make you much more relaxed when your property spends a bit more time on the market. You may also need to employ what I call the “Wayne Gretzky Technique” on pricing, where you “skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been”. We’ve become accustomed to pricing home based purely on “Comps” meaning comparable sales. While this is important, getting clarity on what the competition is gives a clearer “here and now” perspective of pricing, knowing that your goal as a seller is now to pay attention to what buyers really want.
Of course, I’m happy to go into more depth on all of what I see in the market in general, and the Old Town market, but you can get a snapshot of what happened this past month in Old Town Fort Collins in my latest blog post below!
This Aprils new listings were much less than last year (11 compared to 21 in 2025). Last year, there were 9 homes listed over a million in Old Town during the month, whereas this year a majority of homes were in the $400-$650 pocket of pricing. Even though the homes listed were less expensive, only a few actually went under contract in short order, with those homes being the ones that commanded the most urgency. So what builds urgency in a market that seems to lack it? One option is purely price, and in particular price relative to the perception of less work to be done. Homes that are well put together, well cared for, and lack a sense of “work needed” seem to sell easier in the current market. Buyers in the market these days seem to value move in ready homes more than project homes, unless the price for a project home is substantially less than they would have to pay for a similar home in the market. For buyers in the current market, there are definitely homes out there that are just priced a bit high, and time will be your friend on these homes…..be patient and strike right after a price reduction. For sellers, take the time to really test the market pricing through the use of coming soon phases and professional marketing. If you have questions about the old town Fort Collins housing market or process, I’m here as a resource for you.
March inventory doubled in 2026 from 2025 with 18 total homes being listed as compared to 9 in the previous year. As I write, the country is going through a bit of turmoil with a multi week war in Iran that has caused plenty of uncertainty in buyer sentiment and major swings in interest rates as well. That change in sentiment has put some extra headwinds on the demand that we normally see in the spring market, with buyers waiting things out to see if a bit of world and interest rate stability makes them feel more inclined to make a move. I do think that the market will continue to have a similar pattern to years past, and March into April/May tends to be some of the busier buying seasons. I would expect that as the coming months unfold that we will see more and more listings hit the market, providing more options for buyers and perhaps causing some price adjustments to many of the homes listed in March. If you want to learn about what homes came on the market this past month, you can read all about them below:
Last February the supply really spiked with 17 homes hitting the market. For whatever reason, this year was nearly half of that amount of supply, which in all honesty, is probably a more sustainable number historically for February. What I did see this year was that a large portion of homes listed go under contract while still in the same month. Rates are just about the same this year as they were at the same time last year (they have been a wild ride of ups and downs based on the latest happenings in the world!) so really the market demand hasn’t changed much year over year. Supply in Old Town has been short over the past couple of months, so the homes being listed, especially the more affordable and smaller options, are getting offers relatively quickly, mostly due to lack of supply. As we enter the true spring market of March/April/May, I’d expect certain homes to stand out more while others labor on the market. Ultimately, the best fairing homes are the ones that are not too aspirational in price, with as much of a “move-in” factor as possible. If you want to learn about what homes came on the market this past month, you can read all about them below:
After a slower December to end 2025, I expected that the market would pick up a bit quicker in 2026. However, only 7 properties were listed in early January, and of those, just 2 have gone under contract. Compared to last year, the amount of homes listed is not very different (8 were listed in January of 2025), so I suppose I just hoped and expected that more would come along. Interestingly, there were only a few single family homes listed, with just one of those going under contract. I see an opportunity in the early spring market for sellers to take advantage of the seasonal lack of listings to potentially gain some traction on harder to sell homes on busy roads, or small sqft, provided that they keep their pricing expectations in check. We will see how the market pans out into February and the heavy spring months coming up.
I think that many, realtors and homeowners alike, tend to view December as a throw away month in the market. To be honest, I pretty much agree with this sentiment or I wouldn’t advise sellers to avoid listing in this month in favor of listing in January. Frankly, most people have their minds somewhere else in December, whether it be on enjoying the holidays, or preparing for travel, December almost always has the least amount of homes listed. What I do see, however, is that buyers that are in the market in December are likely in the “make something happen” mode. If you are a buyer, I can pretty much guarantee that you won’t compete with other buyers for a home that is still available in December. In regards to activity in Old Town this past month, there were only 3 homes listed, so it didn’t really provide all that much new to the market for the year. You can read a little bit about each of those listings below if you feel so inclined!