First Friday Update April 3, 2026

Colorado Springs Market Update – April

We’re starting April with 1,911 active single-family homes on the market.
That’s up 10.7% from March, which is pretty normal—spring listings ramp as we head into summer.

Today’s inventory is already equal to where we were in May of last year.

And April is one of the heaviest listing months of the year…
So realistically, we’re probably sitting 10–15% above last year’s inventory trajectory already.

March Numbers

• 1,038 total sales
• Median price: $475,000
• ~30 days on market

Same time last year:

• 1,049 sales
• Median price: $487,000
• ~30 days on market

Flat market year-over-year.

No real price growth. No real crash either.

Now here’s where it gets interesting…

I’ve been talking about the M2 money supply, and honestly—
that one chart explains more than most people want to admit.

The price correction I expected?
It’s getting offset by dilution.

More dollars chasing the same houses.

I’ll break that down next 👇

Back in 2022, when rates started ripping higher, we also saw a meaningful reduction in the Fed’s balance sheet.

Rates up → credit tightens → money supply cools.

At the same time, our local market put in a record high around $505,000 median price.

Since then, something pretty important has happened… quietly.

We’ve now blown past the 2022 peak in money supply by nearly $1 trillion.

No headlines. No panic. Just… more dollars.

Next data drop is April 28th—we’ll dig into that in the May update.

And remember this:

M2 money supply vs. housing prices nationally?
It’s about as close to a perfect correlation as you’ll find.

Now we find ourselves at war.

On the one hand we're being told that:
“We’ve already won.”
“Maybe this wraps up in a few weeks.”

"Whoever needs oil from the gulf can get it themselves"

On the other:
We’re talking about $1.5 trillion in new military spending.  That's out the mouth of the president today.

That money is backed by nothing.  It doesn't even have to go through the hardship of being printed at this point.  It's literally just numbers on a screen.

It gets created, injected, and circulated—
starting with defense contractors and eventually working its way through the broader economy.

And the reality all moral gymnastics and jingoism aside.

War is inflationary. Always.

It takes massive amounts of money to pay for what war consumes—
fuel, steel, equipment, logistics, labor, things that go boom.

But unlike building infrastructure or productive assets…

War spending doesn’t create long-term productivity.

It uses up resources instead of compounding them.

Think of it like this:

Building mining trucks or construction equipment →
creates tools that generate future economic output.

Building missiles and burning fuel in conflict →
money gets spent… resources get used…
and nothing productive remains.

Same dollars. Less real output.

That’s inflation.

Foreclosures

Foreclosures are steady coming through—but not in any meaningful volume.  The El Paso County trustee has been kind of lagging on data releases but the February numbers for 2026 are actually lower than 2025s.

There’s also a big misconception here…
People think foreclosures = screaming deals.

That’s usually not how it works.

Once a bank takes a property back, their goal is simple:
sell it for as much as possible.  That being said they will absolutely sell the property even if it's for a lot less than original list price.  Banks don't have the regular seller option of just staying put in a house another decade.

The real foreclosure deals?
Those happen before the auction—and they require time, effort, and relentless follow-up.

That’s why most of them get scooped up by investors…
who then turn around and sell them right back at market price.

What that means right now

Even though foreclosure activity is ticking up…
it’s not enough to put downward pressure on prices.

Big Picture – End of Q1

Is this the best time ever to buy a house?
No.

Is it the best time ever to sell?
Also no.

But it’s far from the worst time to do either.

The market has normalized after the 2020–2022 chaos
and has been operating at a more sustainable level over the past few years.

The real shift

What’s happening right now is a redefinition of affordability.

That’s the hard part—
because it doesn’t feel like opportunity… it feels like loss.

But zoom out:

We’re on a path of
more debt, more money in circulation, and gradual currency dilution.

And housing?

It’s not the perfect investment.
It’s not even the best inflation hedge.

But it is the only one you can live in.