The answer depends less on headlines and more on how close recent sales came to asking price.
If you are wondering whether you still have room to negotiate before making an offer, the short answer is yes, but you need to stay realistic. In Fort Collins, CO, recent sales closed at 98.2% of asking over the previous month, which tells me buyers still have some negotiating room even in a seller-leaning market.
A typical sale in Fort Collins, CO took 40 days over the previous month, and supply stood at 1.96 months. The typical sold price was $538,572, while the typical asking price for active homes was $569,995. Those numbers tell me homes are moving in a competitive environment, but they are not all closing right at full list price.
For a buyer, the mistake is assuming every home deserves an aggressive offer or, on the other side, assuming you have to waive judgment just to compete. I would treat 98.2% of asking as a practical benchmark for recent outcomes, then judge each property on its condition, price position, and time on the market. In Fort Collins, CO, that keeps you grounded in what sellers have actually accepted lately.
Set your ceiling before you tour seriously. Compare the asking price to where recent closings have actually landed. Write clean terms, but do not confuse clean with careless. If a home has been sitting longer, use that time on market as a cue to push harder on price or terms.
