Downsizing in Highlands Ranch: Ranch, Patio Homes and Condos

Downsizing in Highlands Ranch, in two numbers

Downsizing in Highlands Ranch starts with what your house sells for and what the smaller home costs. Over the last 12 months, 1,168 Highlands Ranch homes sold at a median of $705,000, and homes of 3,000 square feet or more sold at a median of $980,000. On October 25, 2026 the MLS showed 11 ranch-style homes, 66 homes with a main-floor primary bedroom and 7 homes in age-restricted (55+) communities for sale in Highlands Ranch. REALTOR® Brian Lee Burke and our team of real estate agents at The Kenna Group at Keller Williams DTC price the sale and find the next home in one plan. Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers.

Downsizing in the Denver metro · Highlands Ranch Realtors & real estate agents · Free Smart Pricing Report

What your Highlands Ranch house sells for

Sales from April to September 2026 had a median of $730,000, against $681,689 from October 2025 to March 2026. 604 of 1,168 sales closed below the list price, so pricing ahead of the market matters more than the list price you hope for. Our Smart Pricing Report gives three prices (fast sale, market pace, stretch) with the time frame and your net for each. Brian Lee Burke has closed 64 Highlands Ranch homes; his 25 years in construction show in how he prepares a 1990s house for sale.

The smaller homes for sale in Highlands Ranch today

The categories overlap: a ranch can also be a patio home or sit in a 55+ community. Gleneagles Village is listed by the HRCA as a 55+ community with The Retreat as a separate 55+ sub-association, and it sits around The Links, an 18-hole executive golf course.

Rules and costs that change when you downsize

Federal fair housing rules let a community limit sales or rentals by age only if it qualifies as housing for older persons. For a 55+ community that means at least 80% of occupied homes have at least one resident 55 or older, the community publishes and follows policies showing it is meant for people 55 and older, and it verifies ages, updating those records by survey at least once every two years (24 CFR 100.305 to 100.307). Housing for people 62 and older is stricter: every occupant must be 62 or older. So a 55+ label does not mean every resident is 55; the community’s own rules set who else may live in the home.

Colorado senior property tax exemption. An owner who is 65 or older on January 1 and has owned and lived in the home as a primary residence for at least 10 straight years can have 50% of the first $200,000 of actual value exempted, filed with the county assessor by July 15. A 2024 law (SB24-111) let a senior who already had the exemption move it to a new home for tax years 2025 and 2026; SB26-116 ends that portability starting with tax year 2027. If you are selling a long-held home to buy in a 55+ community, ask the county assessor how the exemption applies before you close.

HOA registration. Colorado requires every HOA to register with the Division of Real Estate each year (C.R.S. 38-33.3-401); an HOA whose registration lapses cannot enforce assessment liens until it re-registers. The Division’s HOA Information and Resource Center explains owner rights but does not regulate HOAs or settle disputes.

Your HRCA assessment stays. Every Highlands Ranch home pays the Highlands Ranch Community Association assessment, $174 a quarter in 2026, which covers the four recreation centers; many neighborhoods add a sub-association with its own dues. Highlands Ranch is unincorporated Douglas County, and the Highlands Ranch Metro District runs the parks, trails and open space.

Talk to a Highlands Ranch Realtor about downsizing

Why buyers call us: 5.0 stars on 283 Google reviews, A+ with the Better Business Bureau, REALTOR® Brian Lee Burke licensed since 2003 and the author of two books on real estate, 1,000+ homes sold with his group, and Keller Williams Realty DTC, LLC supervising every contract. Brian is known as the hardest working man in real estate; meet the group.

Call or text 303-955-4220. A live person answers.

The Kenna Group is a real estate group with Keller Williams Realty DTC, LLC (Keller Williams DTC), 6300 S Syracuse Way, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80111, formerly known as Kenna Real Estate Group, serving Denver metro home buyers and sellers.

Disclaimer: We are real estate agents, not tax advisers or loan officers; confirm tax exemptions with the Douglas County Assessor and loan terms with a lender. Listing counts come from the MLS on the date shown and change daily. Equal Housing Opportunity.