Do you sign the standard Colorado contract when you buy new construction in Superior?
According to Colorado real estate broker Nick Ahrens, no — new construction buyers in Superior sign the builder's own attorney-drafted purchase agreement, not the Colorado Real Estate Commission (CREC) contract that governs resale deals. That one substitution changes your earnest money (often $25,000 to $50,000 instead of the usual 1% to 2%), your inspection rights, and your ability to walk away if your financing falls apart. Colorado law still protects your construction-defect rights no matter what the contract says, but nearly everything else is negotiable only before you sign.
By Nick Ahrens | July 11, 2026
Nick Ahrens, a Colorado real estate broker with The Apollo Group at eXp Realty, tells buyers touring Downtown Superior that the riskiest paperwork in a new-build deal isn't the loan application — it's the 60-to-80-page purchase agreement the sales office slides across the table on your first visit.
Superior is one of the busiest new-construction markets in Boulder County right now, and buyers are walking into sales offices faster than they're reading contracts. Downtown Superior is a 156-acre master plan that will eventually hold roughly 1,400 homes, 817,000 square feet of commercial and retail space, and 46 acres of open space. In 2026 alone, a 251-unit mixed-use building is due to finish in spring 2027, a four-story extended-stay hotel broke ground in March, a two-story food hall is set to break ground, and the Town Council took up a Final Development Plan for Lots 3, 4, and 5 of Block 7 of Superior Town Center in late April.
Meanwhile the resale side of Superior is tight. The median sale price ran about $967,000 over the last three months, up 17.9% year over year, with homes going under contract in about 30 days. Against that, new construction looks like the calmer path: pick a lot, pick your finishes, no bidding war.
The calm part ends at the contract.
The number that stops people cold: $25,000 to $50,000
On a resale in the Denver metro, earnest money is typically 1% to 2% of the purchase price. On a new build, it's a different order of magnitude.
Here's how one Downtown Superior builder tiers it. At Montmere at Autrey Shores — Koelbel's 94-townhome community starting around $774,900 — the published deposit schedule runs:
$600,000 to $700,000 purchase price: $25,000 earnest money
$700,000 to $900,000: $35,000
$900,000 and above: $50,000
That's roughly 4% to 5% of the price, and it's due at signing. Design-center deposits for your upgrades are usually charged separately, and they're usually separately non-refundable.
Here's the part that catches people. In a resale, your earnest money sits in escrow at a title company and comes back to you if you terminate by a contract deadline. In a builder contract, the deposit can go non-refundable after a short review window, and some builders reserve the right to spend your deposit on construction rather than hold it in escrow at all.
Same words on the page. Completely different money.
A worked example: an $850,000 townhome in Downtown Superior
Say you're buying an $850,000 townhome that delivers in about ten months.
Earnest money at signing: $35,000, under that builder's tier
Design-center deposit: typically a percentage of your upgrade total, due when you select
Financing: the 30-year fixed averaged 6.49% for the week of July 9, 2026, per Freddie Mac
Builder incentive: Montmere is advertising up to $35,000 in financing incentives through preferred lenders, and Denver-metro builders are broadly offering rate buydowns and $10,000 to $25,000 in closing-cost credits
Ten months is a long time for your life to stay still. Rates move. Jobs move. Appraisals come in under contract price. Your current home doesn't sell.
On a resale, each one of those has a named exit — an Inspection Objection Deadline, a Loan Objection Deadline, an Appraisal Deadline, a Notice to Terminate. On a builder contract, your financing out is often limited to a 30-to-45-day window near the start, with a penalty held back from your deposit if you use it. And there is frequently no inspection deadline at all, because the builder is relying on the certificate of occupancy instead of your inspector.
That's the real trade you're making. Before you commit $35,000 to a home that closes next spring, know what your current home is actually worth — builders almost never take a home-sale contingency.
The fine print that actually costs people money
Four clauses to read line by line before you sign anything:
Earnest money and refundability. Find the exact conditions that get your deposit back, the exact date it goes hard, and where it's held. "Non-refundable after 5 days" is a real term in real Colorado builder contracts.
The financing out. How many days? What happens if rates move and you no longer qualify at closing? Is the penalty a flat fee, or the whole deposit?
Inspection rights. The contract may not give you any. Buy them back. Negotiate written access for a pre-drywall inspection and a pre-closing inspection with your own inspector. Municipal inspectors typically spend 15 to 30 minutes in a house and check minimum code compliance, not workmanship. Pre-drywall is the highest-value inspection you will ever pay for, because once the drywall goes up, the framing, rough plumbing, wiring, and duct runs are hidden for the life of the home.
Delivery date, material substitutions, and price escalation. Builder contracts give the builder wide latitude on completion dates and materials. Tariffs have added an estimated $7,500 to $10,000 to the cost of building a single-family home nationally, and escalation language is exactly how that cost finds its way to you.
One more, and it's the one buyers blow most often: register your agent on your first visit. Not your second. If you tour a model, sign a visitor card, or discuss a specific lot without naming your representation, most builders will refuse to compensate your agent later — and you'll spend the rest of a six-figure transaction with the only licensed person in the room working for the other side. When Nick Ahrens walks a buyer into a Superior sales office, registering representation is step one, before anyone writes anything down. If you haven't picked someone yet, do that before you tour, not after.
What Colorado will not let a builder take away
Not every clause in that stack is enforceable.
Colorado's Homeowner Protection Act, part of the Construction Defect Action Reform Act, makes any contract term that waives or limits a homeowner's construction-defect rights, remedies, or damages void against public policy (C.R.S. 13-20-806(7)). A builder cannot contract its way out of your defect claims or shorten the window you have to bring one. Arbitration clauses inside the warranty, on the other hand, are generally enforceable in Colorado under the Federal Arbitration Act — so read how disputes actually get decided, because that changes the economics of any future claim.
You're also owed real disclosure about the taxing district under your feet. Downtown Superior, like most new Front Range subdivisions, sits inside a metropolitan district. For districts organized since 2000, Colorado requires the seller to hand you the service plan, the district's authority to issue debt and levy taxes, an estimate of the district's property taxes for the year you buy, and the current certificate of taxes due (C.R.S. 38-35.7-110). The contract itself carries the bold, all-caps special-district notice required by C.R.S. 38-35.7-101.
Read that packet before the deposit goes hard. A metro district mill levy can climb after you close if the district's debt demands it, and it shows up as a permanent line on your monthly payment. The metro district tax math I run with buyers in Anthem Highlands works the same way in Superior: different district, identical mechanics. Buyers shopping across Boulder County towns routinely compare list prices and never compare mill levies.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is a builder allowed to use its own contract in Colorado?
Yes. Colorado brokers are required to use Commission-approved forms, but a builder selling its own homes is a principal in the deal, not a licensee, so it can use a purchase agreement written by its own attorneys. Attorney-drafted forms must state on their face that they are not approved by the Colorado Real Estate Commission.
How much earnest money will a Superior builder want?
Far more than a resale. One Downtown Superior builder tiers it at $25,000 for homes priced $600,000 to $700,000, $35,000 from $700,000 to $900,000, and $50,000 above $900,000. Resale earnest money in the Denver metro is typically 1% to 2% of the purchase price.
Can I get my earnest money back if my loan falls through?
Sometimes, but never automatically. Builder contracts usually limit the financing out to a short window early in the deal and hold a penalty out of your deposit if you use it. Read the exact refund conditions before you sign, because that language is the whole ballgame.
Do I need my own inspector on a brand-new home?
Yes. A certificate of occupancy confirms minimum code compliance, not build quality. Hire your own inspector for a pre-drywall walk and again before closing, and negotiate that access into the contract up front, since the builder's contract may not grant it.
Does the builder pay my agent?
Usually, as long as you name your agent on your very first visit to the sales office. Register your representation before you tour or sign anything. If you show up unrepresented, the builder keeps that money rather than passing it to you.
How to sign without losing your leverage
New construction in Superior isn't a bad deal. It's a different deal. The price is posted on the sign, but the terms live in a document written entirely by the other side, and every ounce of leverage you have exists in the days before you sign it.
If you're touring Downtown Superior, Montmere, or any Front Range build and you want someone to read the contract with you before that deposit goes hard, call or text me at 949-230-3625, or email me at NickAhrensRealEstate@gmail.com. Bring the paperwork. I'll tell you which clauses are standard, which ones I'd push back on, and what your deposit is actually exposed to.
About Nick Ahrens
Nick Ahrens is a Colorado real estate broker with The Apollo Group at eXp Realty, specializing in the Anthem and Baseline communities of Broomfield (80023). With 15+ years in the business and 350+ career closings, he helps North Denver sellers and relocating buyers navigate pricing, timing, and the path to closing. Connect with Nick at youranthemhome.com.
