Feb 10, 2026 - News
Metro Denver homeowners are staying put
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Denver metro homeowners are staying in their houses for the longest time in at least 25 years, new data shows.
Why it matters: The trend is keeping the housing market on ice for now.
State of play: Low mortgage rates, still-high home prices and tight inventory are the main reasons for the stagnation.
- In the Denver metro, sellers at the end of 2025 had owned their homes for an average of 8.5 years — a record in data going back to early 2000, when the average was one year.
- The average jumped 6% from the year prior, indicating the trend may only continue to climb.
The big picture: Homeowner tenure has increased steadily in almost every major metro area over the past two decades, according to ATTOM, an industry data provider.
- The "trend is especially pronounced in coastal and Northeast metros, where tenure often exceeds a decade, while many Sun Belt and Midwest markets continue to see comparatively shorter ownership periods," CEO Rob Barber tells Axios.
What we're watching: Some golden handcuffs are starting to come loose.
- For the first time since 2020, the share of U.S. homeowners with mortgage rates of 6% or higher exceeds those with rates below 3%, a new Realtor.com analysis finds.