The Assumable Mortgage Market Report: October 2026
The gap just got wider. Freddie Mac's 30-year fixed rate hit 7.40% this week. The median assumable mortgage sitting in Colorado's active inventory right now is 3.29%. That's a 411 basis point spread, and on a typical Colorado Springs home it's worth more than $1,100 a month in your pocket.
Here's what's happening in the assumable mortgage market this month, and what it means if you're buying or selling in Colorado.
Rate Snapshot
Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), released October 8, 2026, put the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage at 7.40%, up from 7.28% the week before. A year ago, the same survey had it at 6.30%. Rates have moved in one direction basically all year, and conventional buyers are feeling it in every new loan quote.
Compare that to the assumable inventory we track across Colorado: 2,669 publishable listings with an existing FHA or VA loan a buyer can step into. The rates on those loans run from under 1% up to the mid-6% range, but the median sits at 3.29%, and roughly half of the inventory assumes somewhere between 2.5% and 4.5%.
Monthly payment difference on a typical Colorado Springs home (principal and interest, $450,000 loan amount, 30-year term):
| Rate | Monthly Payment (P+I) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today's market rate | 7.40% | $3,116 |
| Median assumable rate | 3.29% | $1,968 |
| Difference | $1,147/month |
That's $13,769 a year. Over a 10-year hold, it's $137,687 in payments that never leave your pocket.
Rate direction: nothing on the horizon points down. The Fed has held steady through the back half of 2026, and Freddie Mac's own forecasts aren't calling for relief before mid-2027 at the earliest. Every week rates sit at 7%+ is another week the assumable spread gets more valuable, not less.
Colorado Market Update
The Colorado assumable inventory we publish and track moved to 2,669 publishable listings this month, split almost evenly between VA (1,285) and FHA (1,361) loans. That's up from the 1,638 we reported back in June, mostly because the tracking pipeline now covers more of the state and runs daily instead of monthly.
Rate distribution across that inventory:
| Rate Range | Share of Inventory |
|---|---|
| Under 2.5% | 4.0% |
| 2.5% – 3.0% | 31.9% |
| 3.0% – 3.5% | 19.7% |
| 3.5% – 4.0% | 14.9% |
| 4.0% – 4.5% | 7.8% |
| Above 4.5% | 21.7% |
Nearly a third of the inventory is still sitting under 3.0%. That's loans originated during the 2020-2021 refinance window, and sellers holding them are sitting on the single biggest selling point in their listing whether their agent has flagged it or not.
Median list price across the inventory is $450,000, right in the heart of the Colorado Springs market, and the median equity gap (the cash a buyer needs to bridge between the loan balance and the purchase price) is $134,224. That gap, not the rate, not the process, is the real obstacle for most buyers pursuing an assumption. Plan for it before you make an offer.
Colorado Springs remains the center of gravity for this inventory. Fort Carson, Peterson Space Force Base, and Schriever Space Force Base keep VA loans flowing into the market every PCS season, and El Paso County still carries more assumable density per square mile than anywhere else in the state.
Featured Deal Breakdown
Here's a real-shaped scenario pulled from this month's inventory, with the math walked all the way through.
The property: a Colorado Springs home listed at $450,000, with a VA loan originated in 2021.
- Original loan amount: $420,000
- Assumed rate: 3.0%
- Remaining balance today: approximately $385,000 (after roughly 5 years of payments)
- Equity gap: $450,000 list price − $385,000 balance = $65,000 cash needed at closing (plus normal closing costs)
- Assumed payment (P+I): $1,623/month
- Market-rate payment on the same balance at 7.40%: $2,683/month
- Monthly savings: $1,060
- Annual savings: $12,720
- 10-year savings: $127,200
A buyer covering that $65,000 gap with cash, a gift, or a second-lien gap loan locks in a rate more than 4 points below anything a new loan can offer them today. That's the trade: a chunk of cash up front, in exchange for a rate that would otherwise require a time machine.
What I'm Watching
VA entitlement recycling. When a non-veteran assumes a VA loan, the seller's entitlement stays tied to the property until that loan is paid off. We're watching whether more sellers start pricing that cost into their ask over the next 30-60 days as awareness spreads, or whether it stays an underpriced risk buyers can still take advantage of. Right now it's still underpriced. That won't last forever.
The Bottom Line
Rates aren't coming down this year, and the $1,100+/month gap between a market-rate loan and a median assumable loan in Colorado is the widest it's been all year. If you're a buyer, the equity gap is the thing to plan for first, not the rate. If you're a seller holding a loan under 4%, you are sitting on your home's best feature. Talk to an agent who knows how to market it before you list, not after.
Questions about a specific property or scenario? Call (719) 624-3472 or email ryan@TheAssumableGuy.com.