Insights
Market reports, forecast data, industry insights, and more from iEmergent.
Having recently returned from HousingWire’s The Gathering event in Colorado Springs, now feels like the perfect time to take stock of what this high-altitude market nestled just south of Denver. While household growth has slowed, loan activity is on the rise fueled by surging home prices, a concentrated population of diverse borrowers, and one of the country’s most active VA lending environments. Here’s what lenders need to know heading into 2025.
Subscribe:
The Colorado Springs metropolitan statistical area (MSA), which includes El Paso and Teller counties, is home to 755,000 people in 287,000 households, including nearly a third of all veterans residing in the state of Colorado. The region’s homeownership rate is 66.8%, slightly higher than the national average, and its population density and development patterns are strongly shaped by nearby military installations, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, an Air Force base, a Space Force base, and a large military reservation.
This military footprint significantly influences borrower behavior and drives strong demand for VA loans. But it’s not the only segment worth watching.
Every U.S. market is unique, which is why we forecast mortgage opportunity at the census-tract level. This localized forecasting helps lenders identify opportunity gaps and make data-informed lending decisions.
One of the key tools we developed is the Mortgage Velocity Index (MVI), which compares a local market’s projected loan growth rate to that of the U.S. mortgage market as a whole:
With an MVI of 1.09, Colorado Springs is projected to grow just ahead of the national average over the next five years.
In 2025, we forecast more than 17,500 combined purchase and refinance loans totaling $7.7 billion in origination volume. The average loan size is expected to approach $450,000, reflecting rising home prices and a trend toward modestly higher average loan amounts in the market.
Between 2023 and 2026, the market is expected to add nearly 4,700 new loan originations and $8.66 billion in total loan volume, a 47.8% increase. While growth is expected to level off from 2025 to 2030, current forecasts point to a prime window of opportunity for lenders to take action while momentum is still strong.
That opportunity isn’t reserved for national giants. While mega-lender United Wholesale Mortgage led the market in dollar-volume originations last year, locally owned and operated Ent Credit Union was the MSA’s top lender of 2024 by loan count.
Colorado Springs is not the most racially diverse of markets, but 33.6% of its population identifies as a person of color. Despite this, only 21.8% of loans in 2024 went to borrowers of color. This mismatch helps explain disparities in homeownership rates:
Loan activity among Black, Hispanic, and Asian borrowers is geographically concentrated in a few key areas:
These clustered patterns suggest strong potential for place-based special purpose credit programs (SPCPs) that support equity in homeownership and unlock new pockets of loan activity.
Military lending defines Colorado Springs in ways few other metros can claim. In 2025, VA loans are forecast to make up 40% of all purchase loans, totaling nearly $945 million in loan volume. That’s more than double the share seen in other markets, even ones with high military populations:
These loans are clustered around base-adjacent neighborhoods, where many active-duty and veteran families live. From 2024 to 2025, VA purchase loan volume is forecast to grow by $450 million, making this one of the most compelling segments for focused outreach and borrower education.
Colorado Springs may not be a breakout market, but it’s entering a pivotal moment. With strong short-term growth and a clear forecast for leveling off in the years ahead, now is the time for lenders to act. The most impactful opportunities will come from reaching underserved borrowers and neighborhoods that have historically been overlooked—especially in a market where VA lending dominates but other lending gaps remain.
With tools and insights from iEmergent, lenders can:
Forecasts aren’t foregone conclusions—they’re strategic tools. In Colorado Springs, mortgage growth is within reach for lenders who know where to look and how to act.