A buyer touring Cherry Creek this fall will likely see two kinds of listings on the same afternoon. One is a mid-rise condo a few blocks from the shopping center, priced in the low $700,000s. The other is a townhome three or four blocks out, priced somewhere north of $1.5 million. On paper, the condo looks like the deal. In a Redfin snapshot from mid-May 2026, condos in Cherry Creek carried a median listing price of $713,000 against $1.7 million for townhomes, a gap wide enough that most buyers stop comparing the two once they see the numbers.
That comparison misses the number that actually determines what shows up on a mortgage statement: the HOA fee.
Cherry Creek is one of the only Denver neighborhoods where the association due can rival the principal and interest payment. A boutique townhome association in the neighborhood might run $200 to $600 a month. A full-service tower with a doorman, a fitness room, and underground parking can run into the thousands. North Creek Residences, a seven-story condo building in Cherry Creek North completed in 2008, currently carries HOA fees ranging from roughly $2,410 to $3,211 a month depending on unit. That is a gap of more than $2,000 a month between two ownership options sitting a few blocks apart.
Why the fee, not the price tag, drives your monthly number
Lenders do not care whether your housing cost comes from a mortgage payment or an association invoice. Both count against your debt-to-income ratio. A buyer who qualifies for a $1.6 million mortgage on a townhome with a $400 monthly due might qualify for meaningfully less on a condo carrying a $2,800 monthly due, even if the condo's sale price is $900,000 lower. The fee does not just add to your monthly cost. It subtracts from your borrowing power before you ever get to the purchase price.
This is also why Colorado's Common Interest Ownership Act requires associations to produce standardized resale documents before closing: current budget, reserve study, delinquency rate, and any pending special assessments. A buyer who skips that packet because the sale price looked manageable is the buyer most likely to be surprised by what the HOA actually costs to run.
Here is roughly how the range breaks down across the neighborhood's building stock:
| Building type | Typical monthly HOA range | What it usually covers |
|---|---|---|
| Boutique townhome associations | $200 to $600 | Landscaping, snow removal, limited common-area upkeep |
| Mid-rise condos, limited amenities | $350 to $800 | Building maintenance, master insurance, management |
| Full-service luxury towers | $700 to $1,500+ | Staffing, concierge, garage upkeep, bulk utilities |
| Premium full-service buildings (example: North Creek Residences) | $2,410 to $3,211 | Reserves, valet, structure maintenance, insurance |
Individual buildings fall outside these ranges in both directions, which is exactly why the due, not the neighborhood average, is the number worth pulling before you write an offer.
The neighborhood is adding more of the expensive kind
Cherry Creek is essentially built out. Land is scarce, zoning is tight, and most new supply comes from infill rather than expansion, which is part of why the neighborhood has outpaced broader Denver appreciation for years. But two projects moving right now are adding exactly the type of building that carries the highest dues.
East West Partners broke ground on Cherry Creek West this year after Denver City Council approved the rezoning in September 2024. Demolition and construction mobilization began at the 13-acre site in April 2026, with the first phase of the two-phase project targeted for 2029. Managing partner Amy Cara described the milestone plainly after the rezoning vote: "with the rezoning complete, now comes the fun part." The plan calls for four residential buildings among seven total structures, with underground parking and new open space connecting to the Cherry Creek Trail. Whatever comes out of that project will carry the amenity load, and the dues, of a purpose-built luxury development.
Separately, a Waldorf Astoria-branded condo tower marks the first branded residential project in Cherry Creek and the first Waldorf Astoria property in Colorado. The developer secured $107.5 million in construction financing and presold nearly two-thirds of the building's units before breaking ground. Full hotel-style management means full hotel-style dues once those units change hands.
Neither project changes what a townhome three blocks off the retail core will cost you next year. What they do is push the neighborhood's average due level upward over time, because the newest, most amenity-rich inventory always carries the newest, highest fee structure. A buyer comparing today's median prices without accounting for that trajectory is comparing against a number that is already moving.
What to actually pull before you compare two listings
If you are cross-shopping a condo against a townhome or single-family home in Cherry Creek, price per square foot tells you less than these documents will:
- Current HOA budget and most recent financial statement
- Reserve study and percent-funded figure
- Delinquency rate among current owners
- History of special assessments, including reasons and timelines
- Whether utilities, parking, and storage are included in the due or billed separately
- Any pending litigation disclosed in the resale package
A lender can model your debt-to-income ratio against each fee before you write an offer, which tells you your real number faster than any listing price will.
A quick FAQ
Does a lower sale price always mean a lower monthly payment in Cherry Creek? Not necessarily. A condo with a high HOA fee can carry a higher total monthly cost than a more expensive townhome with a lower fee, once the mortgage payment and the association due are added together.
Are HOA dues in Cherry Creek likely to keep rising? The neighborhood's newest projects, including Cherry Creek West and the Waldorf Astoria tower, are full-service buildings with higher staffing and amenity costs, which tends to push new-building dues higher than the older, smaller associations already in place.
Cherry Creek rewards buyers who read the second number, not just the first one. A background in banking makes that second number easier to model before you fall for a listing photo. If you are weighing a condo against a townhome here, or trying to figure out what a specific building's dues will actually do to your qualifying amount, Johnny Lee can walk through the real math with you. Get your instant home valuation and let's talk through what the numbers actually mean for your budget.
