How to Compare Telluride Housing Statistics
Public housing sources can all be accurate and still show different numbers. Zillow, Redfin, Realtor.com® and the Colorado Association of REALTORS® measure different things, over different periods and geographies. This methods report explains which question each source can answer and which comparisons should not be made.
Four sources, four measurement jobs
| Source | Useful measure | August 2026 example | Main limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Zillow | Smoothed typical home value and monthly active-at-any-time inventory | Telluride ZHVI $2,210,488; inventory 67 | Index and monthly count, not closed-sale median or live IDX |
| Redfin | Recent closed-sale and sale-to-list signals | $3,520,170 three-month median; 2 sales; 96.9% sale-to-list | Very small city sample |
| Realtor.com® | Listing-market snapshot and county historical inventory series | Telluride city median list $4,723,750; San Miguel County median list $3,072,500 | Asking market, with provider geography and listing rules |
| Colorado Association of REALTORS® | County closed sales by single-family and townhouse/condo | 16 and 8 YTD sales through August | Countywide; small samples; public summary |
City, ZIP code and county are not interchangeable
Town of Telluride is a municipality inside San Miguel County. ZIP code 81435 extends beyond a simple municipal boundary, and county data also include Mountain Village and other communities. A provider's label may reflect its own geographic mapping and listing coverage.
For August 2026, Realtor.com® displayed a $4,723,750 median citywide listing price while its county CSV recorded a $3,072,500 median listing price. The gap does not show an error or a discount. It reflects different geographic pools and potentially different listing sets.
Asking prices, sale prices and value indexes answer different questions
A median listing price describes the middle asking price among the provider's listing set. A median sale price describes the middle closed transaction in a stated period. ZHVI estimates the typical value of the middle tier of homes using a smoothed model. None can be subtracted from another to calculate a marketwide negotiation discount.
In small resort markets, the mix matters. A month with more detached homes can raise the median even if comparable properties are unchanged. A repeat-sales or value index controls for some composition effects, while a transaction median does not.
Time-on-market measures also differ
Redfin's city page reports recent median days on market and separately describes time to pending. Realtor.com® reports listing days on market. The association report uses days on market until sale for completed county transactions. Active listings can accumulate days without closing, and relisting rules can differ.
Use one definition consistently for trend analysis. For a property, inspect the actual listing history and current competition rather than transferring an aggregate number into a prediction.
Source ledger
- Zillow Research Housing Data, city ZHVI and inventory CSVs downloaded September 29, 2026.
- Redfin Telluride Housing Market, accessed September 29, 2026.
- Realtor.com® Residential Real Estate Data Library and Telluride market page, accessed September 29, 2026.
- Colorado Association of REALTORS®, San Miguel County Local Market Update, August 2026, current September 3, 2026.
All are public sources. None is being represented as proprietary Mountain Rose Realty research or as transaction-level MLS data supplied by the client.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Why do Telluride housing sites show different prices?
- They may measure asking prices, closed-sale prices or modeled values; use city, ZIP or county geography; and cover different periods and property sets.
- Which number should I use to price a home?
- None by itself. Use recent comparable closed and pending sales, current competing listings, property condition, legal use, location and the actual listing history.
- Can San Miguel County statistics describe the Town of Telluride?
- Only as broader county context. Countywide results must be labeled and cannot establish a Town of Telluride, Mountain Village, neighborhood or building-specific trend.