Why all-homes and single-family series tell different stories
A property-group comparison using Zillow's August 2026 city-level typical-value series.
A city headline can conceal a basic question: which homes are included? Zillow's all-homes ZHVI is useful as a broad, consistent typical-value measure, but it combines the homes represented in a city. Its single-family series answers a more focused descriptive question. In August 2026, Aspen's all-homes ZHVI was $3,437,646, while its single-family ZHVI was $10,455,961. The relationship is material enough that treating an all-homes figure as a detached-home price would blur the decision a buyer or seller is actually making.
The same comparison is available for Snowmass Village, Basalt, Carbondale, and Glenwood Springs in the table. It is designed to show how property grouping changes the modeled typical-value level within each city. It is not designed to rank homes or to identify a universal premium. Each series summarizes a different distribution of homes, and those homes vary by size, location, land, condition, ownership structure, and availability.
That source definition sets the language for the report. ZHVI is Zillow's modeled typical home value. It is neither the median closing price in a month nor the median list price. It cannot be converted into an appraisal, a price-per-square-foot adjustment, a comp set, or a promise of a return. Using the name of the metric on every chart and table is deliberate: it keeps a public portal signal from becoming a claim about a particular property.
For a buyer, the comparison can be a useful early filter. If the search is limited to detached homes, begin with the single-family series and then examine active inventory and recent same-type sales. For a seller, it can help explain why a broad city headline may not be the right reference point for a single-family listing. In both cases, a local agent's current competitive analysis remains the decision tool.
The calculation is reproducible. We retained Zillow's public all-homes and single-family city files, selected the five Colorado cities, used the common August 2026 field, and calculated the single-family value divided by the all-homes value minus one. The CSV gives every displayed input. The chart shows the single-family levels; it does not turn the differences into a causal score.
The public series has limits. Zillow may revise it, the property categories are provider-defined, and city geography is broader than most real buying and selling decisions. A verified public condo series was not part of this retrieval set, so this article makes no condo-versus-single-family finding. The result is best used as a property-group context layer, alongside actual current listings and closed sales.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why compare two ZHVI series?
The all-homes and single-family groupings describe different city-level distributions.
Does the difference prove a single-family premium?
No. It does not hold location, size, condition, or land constant.
Which date is used?
The displayed comparison uses Zillow's August 2026 value for both property groupings.
View the full study, method, limitations, and aggregate data download.
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