"Same number of sales, lower prices." That line comes from the City of Aspen's own finance staff. It appears on a slide in the Oct. 5, 2026 City Council work session packet, and it describes this year's market more accurately than most headlines have.
The city counts every taxable property transfer inside its limits. Year-to-date as reported on Oct. 5, it recorded 414 real estate transfer tax transactions, compared with 418 at the same point in 2025. That is a 1% dip. Total cash value fell 24%, from $1,129.5 million to $855.2 million, and the average transaction dropped from $2.70 million to $2.07 million. So Aspen has not stopped trading property this year. Each trade is simply worth less. In the residential market, that lost value shows up in how long single-family homes sit and how far below list price they close.
Two Ledgers, Counting Different Things
Anyone who has read this year's coverage has seen far steeper declines than 1%. Both sets of numbers are accurate. They measure different things.
| City of Aspen RETT ledger | Aspen Board of Realtors MLS report | |
|---|---|---|
| What it counts | Taxable transfers of title, plus qualifying entity transfers, of property within city limits | Residential sold listings in Aspen market categories |
| Includes commercial property | Yes | No |
| Includes deals with no MLS listing | Yes, if the transfer is taxable | No |
| 2026 YTD count | 414 vs. 418, as reported Oct. 5 | 102 vs. 126 through August |
| Change | −1% | −19.0% |
The transfer taxes are set out in Chapter 23.48 of the Aspen Municipal Code. The 0.5% Wheeler RETT applies to transfers of title to property located in the city. The 1% affordable housing RETT exempts the first $100,000 of every transaction and exempts deed-restricted employee housing governed by APCHA guidelines. The code also counts a transfer of more than 50% of a corporation's shares when the company's main asset is Aspen real property. The city's exemption application notes that buying an interest in an LLC that owns Aspen property can trigger the tax even when no deed is recorded.
The ledger also stops at the city limits. When the $77 million Ranch at Owl Creek sold in unincorporated Pitkin County, Aspen Daily News reported that it produced no city RETT.
The MLS side comes from the Aspen Board of Realtors' August 2026 update, current as of Sept. 3. It shows Aspen single-family sold listings down 21.1% year-to-date, 45 against 57, and townhome and condo sales down 17.4%, 57 against 69. The city does not break its 414 transactions down by property type, listing status or deal structure. So the gap between the two counts reflects what each ledger includes. Neither source can explain it beyond that.
The Count Recovered After April
The city's figures also show the year changing direction. In the April 2026 monthly financial report, year-to-date transfers were down 13%, at 192 against 220. Cash value was down 44%, at $428.5 million against $761.5 million.
Subtracting the April totals from the October totals shows what happened between the two reports. The October slide gives no exact cutoff date, so these figures are approximate:
- Transactions: about 222 in 2026, compared with about 198 over the same stretch of 2025.
- Cash value: about $427 million in 2026, compared with about $368 million in 2025.
- Average per transfer: roughly $1.9 million in both years.
The weak first four months set the size of the full-year gap. The months since have run ahead of 2025 in both count and dollars, but at an average transfer value well below where 2025 began. That fits the timing of Aspen closings, which tend to bunch in late summer and again in spring. A midyear snapshot is a poor stand-in for the full year.
Where the Residential Discount Sits
The single-family and condo segments have gone in opposite directions this year. Here is the single-family market through August 2026, compared with the first eight months of 2025:
- Median sale price: $9.5 million, down from $13.0 million, or 26.9% lower.
- Average sale price: $12.71 million, down from $16.33 million.
- Days on market until sale: 242, up from 157.
- Share of list price received: 91.7%, down from 94.2%.
Over the same eight months, the townhome and condo median rose 15.8% to $3.85 million, and the average rose 19.7% to about $6.01 million. Condos sold for 94.7% of list price, slightly better than a year earlier, and days on market barely changed at 167.
So the residential decline sits mostly in houses, and mostly at the top of the market. The Aspen Times reported in July that a midyear market snapshot showed Aspen sales over $10 million down 56% in dollar volume and 48% in transactions for the first half of 2026. Sales over $20 million fell from 19 to 13. When fewer of the largest estates close, the median and the average both fall, even if comparable homes have not been repriced by the same amount. Part of the 26.9% median decline comes from a different mix of homes selling, and part comes from real negotiation. The negotiation shows up in two figures: 242 days on market and a 91.7% sale-to-list ratio.
Why Sellers Have Not Flooded the Market
A 24% drop in transfer value usually suggests forced selling. The supply figures show the opposite. Single-family inventory in August stood at 103 homes, down from 120 a year earlier. Months of supply eased from 18.0 to 16.5. New single-family listings for the year came in at 131, down from 143.
The July snapshot covered by The Aspen Times explained why:
"Many sellers have enjoyed years of appreciation, strong investment returns, and manageable carrying costs. They simply do not have to sell. If they do not receive the price they want today, many are content to wait until next season..."
This is a slow market with low inventory. Homes that do sell take longer and close further below list. Owners who are not under pressure keep their homes off the market, so supply never piles up enough to push prices into a steep fall. The same report said inventory remains historically low, which it counted in sellers' favor.
The Shortfall Lands on Housing and the Wheeler
Lower transfer values also mean less tax revenue, and that shortfall reaches civic projects. The city now projects $19.5 million in RETT revenue for 2026, $7.3 million or 27% below its $26.8 million budget. Of the total, 67% goes to housing, which is projected at $13.0 million, $4.9 million short. The other 33% goes to arts and culture, projected at $6.5 million, $2.4 million short. Staff attributed the gap to "lower sale values, not fewer sales." The arts and culture fund supports the Wheeler Opera House and the Red Brick.
For comparison, Aspen collected $23.9 million from 638 free-market deals in calendar 2024, beating a $19.4 million budget.
The city's largest housing project is the Lumberyard. According to the Oct. 5 update, its first of two financial closings is done, and construction of infrastructure and the 104-unit Building 1 is well underway. Gorman is assembling funding for a second closing scheduled for March or April. Permits for Buildings 2 and 3 will be sought for a spring 2027 start, and a city bond issue of up to $70 million is planned for fall 2027. Infrastructure work along Highway 82 is expected to intensify. The city reports the RETT gap and the Lumberyard schedule separately and has not said the shortfall changes the project's unit count, timeline or financing.
What the Split Means When Writing an Offer
In single-family homes, the 2026 numbers point to negotiating room in time and price. A house that has been listed for months is now the norm, at 242 days through August. Closing several points below list is also normal, at 91.7% on average. Neither one signals a problem with a particular property.
The condo segment points the other way. Townhomes and condos closed at 94.7% of list year-to-date, with steady marketing times and higher medians. Buyers stepping down from a house to an in-town condo should not expect the same discount they would see on a house. Owners moving up from a condo to a house will sell into the firmer market and buy into the softer one.
The August report also notes that its sale prices do not account for seller concessions. The real gap between asking and closing on a given house can therefore be wider than the headline ratio suggests.
FAQ
Does the city's RETT count include deals that never appeared on the MLS? Yes, when the transfer is taxable. The code taxes transfers of title to property inside city limits, along with certain entity transfers, whether or not a broker listed the property.
Are deed-restricted units subject to the housing RETT? The 1% housing RETT exempts deed-restricted employee housing subject to APCHA guidelines, and it exempts the first $100,000 of every transaction. How a specific deal is treated depends on its structure, which is a question for a tax or legal professional.
Do sales in Snowmass Village or unincorporated Pitkin County show up in Aspen's numbers? Not in the city's RETT ledger, which covers only property inside Aspen's municipal limits.
In a market where houses and condos are pricing so differently, the best number for one property can be the wrong one for its neighbor. Saslove & Warwick can walk you through how this year's single-family and condo figures apply to the home you are considering or plan to sell. Contact us.
This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.
