Plenty of HUD homes get no acceptable bid in the first round. Some get none for months. Nothing dramatic happens; HUD has a process for it, and understanding the process is how patient buyers end up paying less than the people who bid on day one.
Step 1: daily review inside the exclusive period
After the initial bid round is opened with no acceptable bid, the home stays in the owner-occupant exclusive period and HUD reviews new bids as they come in, usually daily. Owner-occupants still have the field to themselves until the exclusive period runs out (typically about 15 days from listing on an insured home, about 5 days on an uninsured one). How the deadlines work.
Step 2: the extended period
When the exclusive period ends, the listing moves to the extended period and anyone may bid, including investors. Review stays daily. On uninsured homes this is where most sales happen, often to cash buyers, because the exclusive period was only days long.
Step 3: price reductions
HUD periodically reviews unsold homes and reduces the list price, commonly by a set percentage, roughly every 30 to 45 days of no acceptable bids. A reduction generally re-lists the home with a new list date. On insured homes that can mean a fresh exclusive period for owner-occupants at the lower price; check the listing, because the period rules are applied per listing. The As-Is value may also be updated if HUD orders a new appraisal, which moves the acceptance threshold with it.
Step 4: the long tail
A home that still has not sold after several reductions may be offered to local governments and nonprofits through HUD’s discount programs, pulled and re-appraised, or eventually sold in bulk. Those are rare in metro Denver, where most HUD homes sell within a couple of reductions. Outlying counties see more of the long tail; HUD homes by Colorado county shows where the inventory actually is.
What this means if you are buying
- The first round is not the last chance. If you were outbid on net, the house may be back at a lower price in a month. Set an alert. HUD home alerts email you when a Colorado listing changes.
- Reductions reset competition. Every reduction brings a new set of owner-occupant bidders. The buyer who is pre-approved and has already inspected from the curb bids the morning the reduction posts.
- Do not bid below the line and wait. A bid under HUD’s threshold is not a placeholder; it is rejected, and you learn nothing. Bid a net that can win, or wait for the reduction.
- Watch the days on market. HUD Home Store shows the list date. A home approaching 30 or 45 days with no sale is a home whose price may move.
How we track it
This site checks HUD Home Store twice a day and keeps a page for every Colorado listing, including price changes and the day a home goes under contract, so you can see the cycle for yourself. Every Colorado HUD home available now and the Colorado HUD inventory report with the monthly counts.
Questions people ask next
How often does HUD reduce the price?
Typically after roughly 30 to 45 days without an acceptable bid, and again at similar intervals. The listing shows the current list date, which restarts at each reduction.
Does a price reduction restart the owner-occupant period?
On insured homes it usually does, because the reduction creates a new listing. Check the listing period on the updated listing rather than assuming.
Can I bid below the list price?
Yes. HUD accepts bids based on net against the As-Is value, and after reductions the acceptable net can be well below the original list. Bidding far below HUD’s threshold, though, is simply rejected.
Where can I see how long a Colorado HUD home has been listed?
HUD Home Store shows the list date on each listing, and this site keeps a page for every Colorado HUD home with its price history and the day it went under contract.
The listing controls. HUD changes its procedures from time to time and every property has its own dates, codes and conditions on HUD Home Store. Where this page and the official listing or current HUD rules differ, the listing and HUD’s current rules control. We check this page regularly; ask us to confirm anything before you rely on it.
Looking at a specific HUD home? Call or text 303-955-4220. A HUD-registered agent answers, reads the listing with you, and the answer is free.
Written and reviewed by
Brian Lee Burke, Colorado HUD home specialist and team leader
Licensed Colorado real estate professional since 2002 · REALTOR® · Team leader and licensed broker of the Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams DTC, a HUD-registered group that regularly bids on HUD homes · Author of The Real Estate Playbook and Mastering Real Estate. Brian’s full HUD biography.
Last reviewed: September 29, 2026 · Sources: HUD Home Store (hudhomestore.gov) and HUD program guidance, HUD Handbook 4000.1, REcolorado MLS data via kennarealestate.com, and the Kenna Real Estate Group’s own HUD transaction files.
Contact: call or text 303-955-4220 or homes@kennarealestate.com. During office hours you reach a live local Kenna real estate professional, not a robot or a national call center. Brokerage: Kenna Real Estate Group at Keller Williams Realty DTC, LLC, 6300 S Syracuse Way, Suite 150, Centennial, CO 80111. Each Keller Williams office is independently owned and operated. The Kenna Real Estate Group is an independent real estate team and is not affiliated with or endorsed by HUD or any government agency; official property information comes from HUD Home Store. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Free guide, PDF
The Colorado HUD Home Buyer's Playbook
How HUD bidding really works, the nine ways buyers lose, and the bid worksheet. 18 pages, free.
Why you want it before you bid:
- The 15-day owner-occupant window, day by day, so you never miss a deadline
- The net-to-HUD math HUD actually scores, with a one-page bid worksheet
- The nine ways buyers lose a HUD home, and how each one is avoided
Find every home available, not just HUD homes
Advanced home search: every listing on the Colorado MLS, with the full filters, on kennarealestate.com.
Opens kennarealestate.com, the Kenna Real Estate Group’s full MLS search. HUD homes only? Use the tiles and the map on this site.
Ask us about HUD homes
Tell us what you are working with and we will tell you honestly whether a HUD home is the way to get there. No cost, no obligation, and nobody sells you anything.
Call or text 303-955-4220
A live person answers. Not a robot, not a phone tree.
