Is Franktown a Buyer's Market or a Market With Too Few Sales to Say? Reading Realtor.com, Redfin, Zillow and the Census Count of Detached Homes

Why do the Franktown price figures disagree by so much?

The levels are far apart. Redfin's median sale price is $1,150,000, Realtor.com's sold median is $1,600,000, its listing median is $1,695,000 and Zillow's index is $1,061,994. Realtor.com's sold median is 39.1% above Redfin's, computed here, and its listing median is 59.6% above Zillow's index. A spread that wide between sources is rare in a town with many sales, and it points to a thin market in which a few large sales can move a median.

The directions disagree as well. Redfin's median is down 1.7%, which implies about $1,169,888 a year earlier. Realtor.com's sold median is up 41.28%, which implies about $1,132,503, and up 18.52% in three years, which implies about $1,349,983. Its listing median is down 1.74% in a year, which implies about $1,725,015, down 5.78% from the month before, which implies about $1,798,981, and up 40.11% in three years, which implies about $1,209,764. Zillow's index is down 0.7%, which implies about $1,069,480, though as of April.

Per-foot prices tell a quieter story. Redfin shows $354, down 10.5%, which implies about $396 a year earlier, and Realtor.com shows $350, down 4.13%, which implies about $365. The two levels are within about 1.1% of each other, and both are lower than a year before. A price per foot that falls while the median sold price rises suggests that the larger and costlier homes made up more of the recent sales. That is an inference from the pattern and not a statement from either page.

The Census owner value of $960,400, plus or minus $76,667, is 16.5% below Redfin's median and 40.0% below Realtor.com's sold median, computed here. It is 6.6 times the Census median household income of $146,000, which itself carries a margin of plus or minus $33,993. Owners estimate the value of their homes, and the figure is an average over five years, so it trails current sales.

What the sources agree on is that homes here are costly, that prices are near $1.1M to $1.7M depending on what is measured, and that the number of sales is small. An owner should treat any published median as a rough guide and ask for closed sales of homes close to their own in size, lot and condition. In a market with this few sales, one comparable is worth more than any average.

A short list of closed sales is the best check on all of this. Pick homes with a similar number of bedrooms, a similar lot and a similar age, sold in the last year, and note the sale price, the days on market and the gap between the first ask and the last. In a place where Redfin counted a dozen sales in a winter month, five or six true comparables tell an owner more than a published median ever could, and an owner who has them is far better placed to judge any offer.

Sources as cited. Ratios and year-earlier values in this section are computed from the published figures and percentages.

How slow is Franktown, and what does a buyer's market label mean here?

Homes are slow to sell. Realtor.com shows a median of 71 days on market, up 33.91% in a year, which implies about 53 a year earlier. Redfin shows 176 days against 139 in February, up 37 days, and its score for the area is 35 out of 100, somewhat competitive. Redfin says that the average home sold about 3% below list and went pending in around 116 days, measured over six months, and that hot homes sold at around the list price in around 45 days.

Realtor.com labels August 2026 a buyer's market, with a sale-to-list ratio of 97% and homes selling 3.27% below the asking price. Redfin's ratio is 95.1%, so the two sources agree that sellers in this area give up several percent from the first price. On a sale near $1,600,000, 3.27% is about $52,300, and on a sale near $1,150,000, a 4.9% gap from list is about $56,400, computed here. Those figures are the price of a public process.

Supply is large against sales. Realtor.com shows 80 active listings, down 17.24% in a year, which implies about 97 a year earlier, and up 10.77% in three years, which implies about 72. Redfin counted 12 sales in February and 15 a year earlier. If 12 sales a month were typical, 80 listings would be more than six months of sales, an inference that rests on one winter month and is offered only as a rough scale. Winter is a slow season, so the real figure is probably lower.

Above-list sales are rare but not absent. Redfin shows 16.7% of homes sold above list, up 10.0 points, which on 12 sales is two homes. That is the clearest case here of a percentage that sounds large and rests on a handful of deals. A reader should not take the rise as a trend, and an owner should not take the 3% discount as a rule either. Each sale in a market this small is its own event.

For a seller, the cost of a public sale in a market like this is mostly time and exposure. A home can sit for months, accept several price cuts and carry a visible record of its history. A buyer who offers a close date, no financing condition and no repair list changes the arithmetic, since it ends the wait with a single number. Whether that number is better than the open-market result is the owner's judgment to make, and a seller should compare.

The listing count and the sales count together describe the leverage. With 80 homes for sale and a handful of sales in a month, a buyer can wait, compare and ask for a concession, and the data suggest that many do. A seller who must sell by a date, or who does not want to carry a large home through a slow season, has less leverage than the headline price implies. That is the situation in which a firm offer with a fixed closing date has the most value.

Sources as cited. Year-earlier values and differences are computed from the published percentages.

Who lives in Franktown, and who owns?

Ownership is nearly universal. Of 1,846 occupied homes, 1,786 are owner-occupied, 96.7%, and 60 are rented, 3.3%. Of 1,964 units, 118 are vacant, 6.0%, and of those 7 are for sale only and 111 are held for seasonal use. None are for rent. With so few rentals, the market is a market of owners selling to buyers who will also own.

Owners have mostly stayed a while. Of 1,786 owner households, 35 moved in during 2023 or later and 160 between 2020 and 2022, so 10.9% moved in since 2020. Another 633, 35.4%, moved in between 2010 and 2019, 327, 18.3%, between 2000 and 2009, 335, 18.8%, in the 1990s and 296, 16.6%, before 1990. In all, 46.4% arrived since 2010 and 35.3% before 2000, so many owners hold a home with long-held equity.

Homes are large. Of 1,786 owner households, 6, or 0.3%, live in a one-bedroom home, 124, or 6.9%, in a two-bedroom, 578, or 32.4%, in a three-bedroom, 612, or 34.3%, in a four-bedroom and 466, or 26.1%, in one with five or more bedrooms. So 92.7% live in a home with three or more bedrooms and 60.4% in one with four or more.

Costs are moderate for most owners. Of 1,039 owners with a mortgage, 1,033 with a computed figure, 230, or 22.3%, spent 30% or more of income on housing, and 90, or 8.7%, spent half or more. Among the 747 owners without a mortgage, 727 with a computed figure, 53, or 7.3%, spent 30% or more, and 40, or 5.5%, spent half or more, which reflects property taxes, insurance and upkeep. Owners without a mortgage are 41.8% of all owners, so many could sell without a loan to pay off.

The rental side is too small to read. Only 60 renter households were counted, and the Census median rent of $1,435 carries a margin of plus or minus $1,085, which is too wide to use. Realtor.com shows 3 rental properties. A seller should not read the rent figures as a guide to income value, and an investor looking at Franktown should not either.

Put together, a typical owner is a household that has held a large home for a decade or more, owns it with a moderate mortgage or none, and is in no hurry. Some homes are held for part of the year, 111 of them by the Census count, and the owners of those homes may have still less reason to endure months of showings. For such owners, a sale on a date that suits them, without strangers walking through a quiet house, is often worth more than a few weeks of extra exposure.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B25003, B25004, B25038, B25042, B25064, B25070 and B25091, via Census Reporter; Realtor.com for the rental count. Shares are computed here.

How old are Franktown homes, and what does the detached stock need?

The stock is mostly from the last half-century. Of 1,964 units, 51, or 2.6%, were built before 1940, 18, or 0.9%, in the 1940s, 42, or 2.1%, in the 1950s and 14, or 0.7%, in the 1960s. Another 452, or 23.0%, were built in the 1970s, 412, or 21.0%, in the 1980s, 533, or 27.1%, in the 1990s, the largest decade, 268, or 13.6%, in the 2000s, 133, or 6.8%, in the 2010s and 41, or 2.1%, in 2020 or later. The median build year is 1990, and 71.1% were built from 1970 to 1999.

Homes of that age have systems that need care. A house from the 1970s to the 1990s may be on its second roof, its second or third water heater and a heating system that has been replaced once. Many homes in this area probably have private wells and septic systems, which an inspector would also examine, though none of the sources here counts them, so that is an inference from the rural character of the place and not a finding. A buyer's inspection of such a house can produce a list that costs more than a seller expects.

Almost every home is a detached house. Of 1,964 units, 1,952, or 99.4%, are detached, 6, or 0.3%, are attached and 6, or 0.3%, are mobile homes. None are in buildings of two or more units. This is a place with no apartments and no condominiums, which means each home competes mostly with other large single-family homes, often on larger lots, and no attached product offers a cheaper way in.

The population is older than many suburbs. Of 5,132 people counted, 967, or 18.8%, are under 18, 319, or 6.2%, are 18 to 24, 364, or 7.1%, are 25 to 34, 468, or 9.1%, are 35 to 44, 1,578, or 30.7%, are 45 to 64 and 1,436, or 28.0%, are 65 or older. The share who are 65 or older is more than a quarter of the population, and the Census margin on the total is plus or minus 698.

An owner in the older groups often holds most of their wealth in the house. A household whose children have left, or that wants less upkeep on a large home, may weigh a sale, and the timing is the owner's choice. A seller in that position often wants a date that fits a move, privacy while the decision is made and a price that needs no repairs first. Those are the things a private buyer can offer.

Condition is the last piece. A home that has been kept up, with a newer roof, a sound well and septic system if it has them, and updated wiring, loses little to an inspector, and a home that has been put off for years can lose a great deal. A seller who is unsure what an inspection would find may prefer an offer from a buyer who has already priced the home as it stands. That does not make the home worth less. It moves the cost of repair from a negotiation to the price. Readers comparing markets can also read the Virginia Village brief and the Steamboat Springs brief.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 five-year estimates, tables B01001, B25004, B25024 and B25034, via Census Reporter. Shares are computed here.

What should a Franktown owner ask, and what does a private sale change?

Five questions are worth asking. Is my price based on closed sales of homes like mine, and not on a median that rests on a dozen sales? What will the buyer's inspector find in a home of this age, including the well and septic systems if I have them? What do taxes, insurance and upkeep cost me per month while the home is on the market? Do I want a public process with showings? What will the fees be?

Fees are simple arithmetic, and no rate is assumed here. Each 1% of a $450,000 sale is $4,500, of a $725,000 sale is $7,250 and of a $1,200,000 sale is $12,000. Three percent is $13,500, $21,750 and $36,000, and five percent is $22,500, $36,250 and $60,000. A seller can put their own quoted costs into those rows. On the Redfin median of $1,150,000, 1% is $11,500, 3% is $34,500 and 5% is $57,500, and on the Realtor.com sold median of $1,600,000, 1% is $16,000, 3% is $48,000 and 5% is $80,000.

A private sale has no showings and no neighbors talking about it, which is the first benefit. For a household in a place where a home can sit for several months, a quiet transaction has plain appeal. The second benefit is a closing date that fits the seller, which helps an owner who needs time to find the next home or to settle a large property.

The third and fourth benefits are no commission costs and no closing costs, and the fifth is no inspection repairs. In a postal area where about half of the homes were built before 1990 and many may have private systems, an inspector will find work, so the fifth is worth pricing. An owner should set an offer beside what the same home would net after preparation, after fees, after price cuts and after the cost of time.

Maison Off-Market buys luxury homes and estates directly from their owners and speaks only to sellers. It does not say that a private sale always beats a public listing, and in a market where sales are so few, an owner is right to compare carefully. If you would like a private, no-obligation offer for a home in Franktown, call 401-219-4207 or use the contact form on this site.

Sources as cited. Fee illustrations are arithmetic only and assume no commission rate.

Methodology and limitations

Each page's date, title and place were read before use. The Realtor.com page is for August 2026, and its columns are one year and three years. The Redfin page is dated February 2026 and rests on 12 sales, so it is seven months old and thin, and is used only as a rough check. The Zillow page states that it was updated on April 30, 2026. Only established data publishers and the Census are cited. The Census figures are five-year estimates for the postal area that the sheet lists for Franktown, and several of them carry wide margins of error, which are stated where they matter. Percent changes were taken as printed, and ratios, sums, fee figures and year-earlier values are this brief's arithmetic.

Conclusion

The record for Franktown is a price somewhere between $1.1M and $1.7M depending on the source, homes that take two to six months to sell and go for several percent below list, and a stock that is almost entirely detached houses built in the last fifty years. The useful number for an owner is a closed sale of a comparable home, and a private buyer can price the home in front of them and close on the owner's schedule.