Denver fix and flip margins are shrinking, condo inventory just hit 11 months, and some DSCR lenders are approving loans at 0.75 debt service coverage. That’s not a typo. For anyone trying to get a clear Colorado real estate outlook for 2026, the signals are mixed — and most of them you won’t find in the MLS.

To help make sense of it all, Chris Lopez sits down with Kevin Amolsch, founder of Pine Financial, a Colorado private lender that has originated over $1 billion in loans across 2,800 transactions since 2008. Beyond lending, Kevin is actively buying commercial buildings, demising flex warehouse space in Broomfield, and stripping cellular tower leases off office properties the way some investors strip mineral rights. As a result, he has a front-row seat to what’s actually working — and what’s quietly blowing up.

In this episode, Kevin shares what Pine’s current deal flow reveals about the Colorado real estate outlook for 2026 and why he’s moved away from residential toward commercial assets. He and Chris also have a candid back-and-forth on the Denver price forecast — Kevin expecting flat, Chris leaning slightly negative. From there, they dig into why the condo and attached product market may be the riskiest place to be right now.

In This Episode We Cover:

• Why Kevin sees fix and flip margins compressing — and what experienced flippers are doing about it
• The DSCR loan warning every Colorado investor needs to hear before refinancing a BRRRR
• Kevin’s honest breakdown of Denver’s 2026 price outlook: detached, attached, and multifamily
• How Kevin is stripping cellular leases off his office building like mineral rights — and what they sell for
• Why ground-up townhome development is struggling and what the 11-month condo inventory actually means
• The 10-year treasury vs. risk spread explained clearly, and what Trump’s MBS buying could actually do
• Why Kevin is price-checking his subs and vendors right now — and why you probably should be too

If you’re trying to get a clear Colorado real estate market outlook for 2026 — and figure out what moves actually make sense right now — this is the episode to listen to.

Watch the YouTube Video Timestamps

00:00 — Welcome & Guest Introductions 

01:13 — Colorado Springs January Stats — New Listings Nearly Double 

03:44— Denver Boots on the Ground — Relisting Surge & Condo Financing 

05:39 — Denver Metro Trends — Inventory Building & Prices Flat 

07:44 — Colorado Land Up 174% — Why Starter Homes Don’t Exist 

09:40— Builders Sitting on Unsold Spec Homes 

11:11— Colorado Ranks 5th for Outbound Moves 

11:55— Rental Market Reset — Rents Feel Like 2018 

15:45— Room by Room Rentals — Flat Rents & Co-Living Rebrand 

21:58— Section 8 Voucher Changes & Denver Paying 120% of Fair Market Rents 

27:51 — Multifamily at 2018 Prices & $30M Foreclosure With Zero Bidders 

35:05 — Renting vs. Buying — Jenny’s Real Numbers Comparison 

37:53 — Mortgage Rates & New Fed Chair Nomination

41:24— Buyer’s Market Playbook — Time for Disrespectful Offers

Connect with our Guests

Kevin Amolsch

Links in Podcast

ATTOM Property Data

Pine Financial