As we move deeper into summer, the Vail Valley truly hits its stride. Between now and mid-August, our calendar is packed with the kind of events that remind you why this place is so special. Bravo! Vail continues its world-class orchestral performances through August 6th, the Vail Dance Festival takes the stage July 31st through August 10th, and Hot Summer Nights and Lionshead Live! keep the free live music going all summer long. Whether you’re teeing off in one of the 15 courses throughout the valley or enjoying a concert under the stars, there’s no shortage of reasons to be outside enjoying it all.
Earlier this week, I also achieved another milestone – this time in my golf game. During a member-guest tournament in Beaver Creek, I got my second-ever hole in one! It was an exhilarating feeling, but I had to rush off the course a little early to negotiate a couple of contracts on my listings. All in a day’s work! Earlier this week, I also achieved another milestone – this time in my golf game. During a member-guest tournament in Beaver Creek, I got my second-ever hole in one! It was an exhilarating feeling, but I had to rush off the course a little early to negotiate a couple of contracts on my listings. All in a day’s work! I also recently met the founder of ClickItGolf.com and I highly encourage my golfer friends to check it out. It’s an amazing resource for breaking news on professional tournaments, equipment releases, and course reviews. Sharpen your skills with expert tips and instructional videos from top-tier coaches and explore comprehensive reviews to find the perfect clubs, balls, and apparel for your swing.
This month, I’m also digging into our mid-year market numbers and there’s more nuance here than the headlines suggest. Inventory is up, homes are taking a bit longer to sell, and a few neighborhoods are posting eye-catching percentages that need some local context to really understand. Additionally, since June 1st, 196 properties have gone under contract which is a notable 35% increase over the same period in 2025. I’ll walk you through what’s actually happening across the valley and what it means for buyers and sellers heading into the second half of the year, further down in this newsletter.
On a personal note, the renovation continues to march along! The floors are in, the new windows are installed, and the kitchen cabinetry is going in as I write this. It’s been an exciting and a crash course in local building codes, materials, and decision fatigue. If you’re building or contemplating a remodel of your own and want to compare notes, I’m always happy to talk through what I’ve learned so far.
In This Newsletter:
- Mid-Year 2026 Vail Valley Report Card – Inventory is up, days on market are stretching out, and a handful of neighborhood stats look dramatic on paper, but the real story is more nuanced. Below is what’s actually happening across the valley, and what it means for buyers and sellers heading into the second half of 2026.
- 2026 Summer LIV Magazine – Explore the roots, lore, and tradition that define Colorado’s mountain communities.
- New Listings Not To Miss – Don’t forget to check out my listings below in this email! Ask me about potential upcoming properties that may not be on the market.
As always, thank you for reading and being part of this community. If you’re thinking about buying, selling, or simply want to chat about the market or local lifestyle, I’d love to connect – just reply or reach out directly.
LIV Magazine – Summer 2026
In the Summer 2026 issue of LIV Magazine, we explore the roots, lore, and tradition that define Colorado’s mountain communities. Discover the stories, the people, and the places that shaped the Mountain West we call home.
Vail Valley Mid-Year 2026 Report Card
We just crossed the halfway mark of 2026, which means it’s time to pull back the curtain on what’s really happening in our valley, beyond the headline numbers everyone likes to quote at cocktail parties.
**January 1 – June 30, 2025 vs January 1 – June 30, 2026.
The headline: more inventory, more transactions, and a market that’s taking its time.
Sales are up nearly 8% and pending contracts are up over 15%, which tells us demand is real and buyers are actively writing offers heading into the second half of the year. But it’s worth reading that alongside the fact that new listings are also up over 5%, there’s meaningfully more to choose from.
That extra inventory is very likely a driver behind the other number worth sitting with: average days on market climbed 25%, from 84 days to 105. More options on the shelf naturally means less pressure to pounce on any single one, and buyers are taking a bit more time to shop, compare, and negotiate than they were a year ago.
It’s not a red flag or cause for concern as a seller – it simply reflects a market that requires a more specific pricing strategy than in recent years.
What tempers that story is the list-to-sold ratio, which barely moved, holding just above 95%. So while homes are taking longer to sell, sellers who price correctly are still landing close to full ask when they do. Longer DOM isn’t code for “prices are falling” – it’s a sign that buyers have more room to be selective, and sellers may need to have more patience. Overpriced listings are the properties that will feel that shift the most.
Median price growth of 3.3% is also a story worth telling correctly. After a few years of eye-popping appreciation, a mid-single-digit gain is actually a sign of a maturing market finding its footing as sustainable, not stagnant.
Neighborhood Tidbits Worth Knowing
A few of the sub-market numbers look dramatic on paper, and they deserve real context rather than a quick headline, which is exactly where local expertise matters.
2026 Leaders – Number of Sold Properties (Jan – June 2025 vs 2026)
- Cordillera Summit (+300%)
- Brush Creek Valley (+200%)
- Dotsero/Sweetwater (+183%)
- Bachelor Gulch (+175%)
- Edwards (+100%)
- Mountain Star (+100%)
At first glance, these look like the hottest pockets in the valley. and context matters for each one.
Cordillera Summit, Brush Creek Valley and Mountain Star are the three clearest examples of why raw percentages can mislead without a local eye. Cordillera Summit went from 1 sale to 4, Brush Creek Valley went from 1 sale to 3, and Mountain Star from 2 to 4, technically representing as +300%, +200% and +100%, but really just a handful of transactions in two very low-volume, higher-end communities. All are neighborhoods that will always produce dramatic-looking percentages on small sample sizes; the story isn’t necessarily a sudden surge in demand, it’s simply the nature of a market with very few homes to begin with.
Dotsero/Sweetwater, on the other hand, tells its own distinct story worth knowing: the area has seen roughly a 60% increase in new contracts this year, driven largely by new local/affordable housing units coming online, typically priced in the mid-to-high $400s with the overwhelming majority being in the Dotsero area.
Bachelor Gulch stands out as one of the most genuinely compelling stories on this list. Sold properties jumped 175% (4 to 11) and average sold price climbed from $3.71M to $6.52M – but new listings actually dropped, from 23 to 15. That combination is the real signal: this isn’t a case of fresh inventory driving activity, it’s a true demand surge in one of the valley’s premier ski-in/ski-out communities, with buyers competing hard for a shrinking pool of homes at increasingly premium price points.
Edwards shows a more balanced growth story. Sales doubled from 8 to 16, and the average sold price climbed nearly 42% (from roughly $1.02M to $1.45M), while new listings rose 44% to help fuel that activity. Unlike Bachelor Gulch, this looks like a genuine mix of increased supply meeting strong demand. Edwards’ relative affordability in the $1–2M range is one of the more accessible entry points in the valley for the local workforce and move-up buyers alike, and is therefore likely doing real work here too.
That’s a price point that’s genuinely rare in the Vail Valley right now, and it’s pulling in a different buyer pool than our typical luxury conversation. It also explains why Dotsero tops the list-to-sold-ratio leaderboard, when a rare, attainable price point hits the market, it moves fast and close to full ask.
2026 Leaders – Median Sold Price (Jan – June 2025 vs 2026)
- West Vail South (+78%)
- Brush Creek Valley (+71%)
- Wildridge (+49%)
- Cordillera Divide (+34%)
- Haymeadow (+33%)
The same caveat applies here, arguably even more so. A 78% median price jump in West Vail South almost certainly reflects a shift in the mix of what sold – larger homes, more renovated properties, or simply a different type of buyer in the pool this year – rather than every home in the neighborhood appreciating 78%.
Haymeadow is its own standalone new development in Eagle, offering a mix of property types and marketed as an amenity-rich community. As more phases and product types release, its median price is still finding its footing rather than reflecting true year-over-year appreciation. There is now a buyer incentive with a 4.99% 30-year fixed rate buy down on this development, so if you have any interest, reach out to me for more details.
Cordillera Divide’s +34%, on the other hand, is a genuinely strong signal in an established, low-inventory golf community – aka: organic appreciation, not a construction or mix effect.
Wildridge’s median sold price jump of 49% (from $1.095M to $1.640M) comes with real activity behind it – an increase in new listings (+28%), under-contracts (+150), and closed sales (+55%). Rather than a single new development skewing the numbers, this looks like a neighborhood in transition: a wave of older inventory getting updated and repositioned, paired with Wildridge’s continued draw as one of the valley’s more accessible $1–2M price points for local buyers.
2026 Leaders – List-to-Sold Price Ratio (Jan – June 2025 vs 2026)
- Dotsero/Sweetwater (+7%)
- Mountain Star (+6%)
- East Vail (+4%)
- Vail Village (+4%)
- Highland Meadows (+4%)
- Gypsum (+4%)
This list is arguably the most honest read on true buyer competition, since it measures negotiating leverage rather than volume. Dotsero’s affordable price point and Mountain Star’s ultra-exclusive, low-inventory nature both explain their spots here for the reasons above. More notable is seeing established, land-constrained neighborhoods like East Vail and Vail Village show gains here too. In a year when DOM is up valley-wide, that tells us something real: in the true core resort markets, buyers are still competing hard for a limited supply of listings, even as the broader valley takes its time.
What This Means for the Second Half of 2026
For Buyers
There’s more to choose from than there was a year ago, and that extra inventory has taken some of the urgency out of the room with average days on market up to full three weeks longer. That gives buyers more room to shop, compare, and negotiate than we’ve seen in recent years. I’ve said it before, but it’s worth saying again: the Vail Valley is made up of nuanced micro-markets within each neighborhood itself, but overall, well-priced listings typically still moving quicker and closer to full asking price than those pushing the market. My advice? Use the extra time and options to your advantage on the broader market, but be ready to move decisively the moment the right property in a supply-constrained neighborhood hits.
For Sellers
Pricing discipline matters more than it has in a couple of years. The list-to-sold ratio holding above 95% shows buyers will still pay close to ask, but only for homes priced to today’s market. With more inventory for buyers to compare against and days-on-market stretching out, an overpriced listing will feel that shift the most, sitting longer and losing negotiating position. The sellers who do best in the second half will price accurately in the early days, or have the patience to wait for the unhurried buyer who may be willing to pay a little more.
The Bottom Line
This is a market with more breathing room than it’s had in a while. More listings, more time to transact, and steadier (not runaway) price growth. Within that bigger picture sit some genuinely distinct micro-stories: a rare affordable price point drawing new buyers to Dotsero, real appreciation in an established golf community like Cordillera Divide, and a couple of headline-grabbing percentages in Cordillera Summit and Mountain Star that are really just a tale of very few homes changing hands. For buyers and sellers alike, the second half of 2026 rewards those who understand which numbers tell the real story and which ones just look good in a headline.
Thinking about buying or selling in the second half of the year? Let’s talk through what these numbers mean for your specific neighborhood, because as this report shows, the valley-wide average rarely tells the whole story.
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