The best mortgage rate in Windsor right now comes from a builder. Trumark is advertising a 2.750% first-year rate on select move-in-ready homes at RainDance. That's a seller-paid 2-1 buydown on a 7/6 adjustable-rate mortgage with a 4.750% note rate and a 5.758% APR. In the same weeks, a Boulder broker told BizWest that rates were "back over 7%."
That gap of more than four points doesn't last. The buydown shrinks in year two and is gone by year three. The metro district levy on the same lot has no end date in the budget, and its bond terms adjust it to keep the money coming in. Buyers comparing new construction with an older Windsor home are really comparing a two-year discount against a tax line that never ends. The address that matters most is the tax district code on the county's levy report.
The incentive has dates on it, and so does the rate
Here's how Trumark's offer steps up. Year one is 2.750%, year two is 3.750%, and year three through the end of the initial seven-year fixed period is 4.750%. To qualify, buyers have to sign a new purchase agreement by October 30, 2026 and close by November 30, 2026. Trumark's own example puts the builder's buydown contribution at $14,388.72.
That subsidy comes with homes whose prices are already moving. At Festival at RainDance, 1858 Windfall Drive was listed at $739,900, down from a displayed $749,900. 1669 Winter Glow Drive was listed at $849,900, down from $859,900. At Fairways at RainDance, a move-in-ready home at 1613 Flourish Ct carried a $1,649,900 price against a prior $1,882,809.
Other builders have built their offers differently. Richmond American's Northern Colorado program offers closing-cost help that can go toward a permanent buydown on select homes. Its examples are 4.999% for FHA/VA loans and 5.375% for conventional loans, on agreements signed July 1 through October 18, 2026, with closing by December 31, 2026. DRB Homes at Trevenna advertises up to $50,000 in Flex Cash or a special-rate offer, with plans starting at $504,900. A permanent buydown and a temporary one can share an ad slogan, but the payments look very different by year three.
The tax bill underneath the incentive
Weld County publishes every tax district's total mill levy in its 2025 Mill Levy Report, which covers tax year 2025 and is dated January 13, 2026. Each total is the sum of every taxing authority that overlaps a given piece of ground.
Tax district 0420 is the Windsor baseline with no metro district. It covers Weld County, Weld RE-4 schools, Northern Colorado Water, the Town of Windsor, Windsor-Severance Fire, Aims Junior College and Clearview Library. Here's how the metro district areas compare:
| Weld tax district | Metro district on the bill | Metro levy | Total mills |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0420 | None | 0 | 94.026 |
| 0452 | Water Valley Metro 2 | 41.079 | 135.519 |
| 6624 | Water Valley Metro 3 | 43.013 | 137.039 |
| 5005 | RainDance Metro 2 | 43.282 | 137.722 |
| 5009 | RainDance Metro 3 | 44.778 | 139.218 |
The 0452, 5005 and 5009 rows also include the West Greeley Conservation District at 0.414 mills, which is why those totals run slightly above the baseline plus the metro levy. The 6624 total is exactly the baseline plus Water Valley Metro 3. Trevenna's district, 6605, totals 122.296 mills with a 40.300-mill metro levy. The county's line items for that district don't include a Town of Windsor levy, so it doesn't compare cleanly with the rows above.
That levy pays for things. The RainDance districts' 2026 budget sets aside $670,000 for the RainDance River Resort alone, along with parks, irrigation, street trees and open space operations. Buyers who want those amenities are paying for them through the levy rather than through a separate HOA bill. The point is that the cost keeps going after the buydown ends.
Why state tax relief doesn't lower the levy
Colorado has been cutting residential assessment rates. For 2026, the state lists 6.8% for local government levies and 7.05% for school levies. In most places, a lower assessment rate shrinks the bill. RainDance's bonds are written so that doesn't happen to the district's revenue.
The districts' 2026 budget hearing presentation explained that bond covenants for Districts 2 and 3 include a "required mill levy" that was set at 39 mills when the bonds were issued. The covenants also require that number to be adjusted for statutory changes in assessment rates "so that the tax revenues generated are neither diminished nor enhanced." In plain terms, when the state lowers the assessment rate, the mill levy can rise to fill the gap.
The debt behind it is long-term. The districts refinanced in 2024 with $41,540,000 in "AA"-rated Series 2024 bonds. As of December 31, 2025, $41,340,000 was still outstanding, with $2,485,250 in principal and interest due in 2026.
Running the RainDance numbers side by side
Take 1858 Windfall Drive at $739,900 and apply Colorado's math, which multiplies actual value by the assessment rate and then by the mill levy. At 6.8%, the assessed value comes to about $50,313. At RainDance Metro 2's 43.282 mills, the metro district line alone works out to roughly $2,178 a year.
Lined up against the builder's $14,388.72 contribution, it looks like this:
- Years one and two. The buydown is doing its work, and the metro line adds up to roughly $4,356.
- Year three onward. The rate settles at its 4.750% note rate. The metro line keeps going at about $2,178 a year.
- Around year seven. Total metro district payments pass the full size of the buydown. That's also when the loan's initial fixed period ends.
This is an illustration, not a tax bill. It covers only the metro district levy, assumes the value and levy stay flat, and skips any exemptions or adjustments the county applies to a specific parcel. It still shows the timing. The builder's money is spent in the first 24 months, while the roughly $2,178 metro line comes due every year.
None of this makes a new build the wrong call. A 2.750% first year can be exactly what gets a household through the costs of moving in. It simply gives the buyer a second number to compare against the 94-mill baseline.
The tax district code matters more than the build year
Water Valley is an established resale area, and its homes in Metro 2 still carry a 41.079-mill district levy. An older Windsor home can come with a metro district line. A newer one can come with a smaller line, or none at all.
District numbering inside a single community matters too. Prairie Song's nine metro districts list 2026 budget levies ranging from 0.000 in District No. 1 to 42.323 in District No. 5, with most of the others between about 21 and 42 mills. Two homes in the same subdivision can land on very different rows of the county report.
That puts the tax district code from the county record ahead of the builder brochure in a side-by-side comparison. Once a buyer has the code, the Weld report gives the exact levy stack for that piece of ground.
What resale sellers are up against this fall
The resale market is where the buydown's pressure lands. In August 2026, the Loveland-Berthoud Association of Realtors' Windsor single-family report showed a $615,000 median sale price, a $762,716 average, 83 days on market, 240 homes in inventory and 98.4% of list price received, using IRES data current as of September 3, 2026. August is the newest month published. The association's archive doesn't list a September Windsor report yet.
Brandon Wells, president of The Group Inc. in Fort Collins, described the shift this way to BizWest:
"Today the buyer sets the pace, and the seller who prices as though that is still negotiable spends the fall finding out."
In the same BizWest report, Wells put cash buyers at 25% of buyers in Timnath, Windsor and Fort Collins, and said cash buyers have more leverage to get concessions from sellers. So a resale seller in district 0420 is competing with a builder offering a sub-3% first year, and that seller has something the builder doesn't. Their lot carries about 43 fewer mills every year. A seller can make up for the missing buydown with a concession, such as funding a buydown on the buyer's loan or covering closing costs. The tax difference keeps working for the buyer long after closing.
FAQ
Is a 2-1 buydown the same as a lower interest rate? No. In Trumark's example, the note rate is 4.750%. The seller's contribution brings the payment down to 2.750% in year one and 3.750% in year two, and then the note rate applies through the initial seven-year fixed period.
Does every Windsor home in a metro district pay the same levy? No. Weld County lists different totals by tax district. RainDance Metro 2 is 137.722 mills and Metro 3 is 139.218, and Prairie Song's nine districts range from zero to more than 42 mills.
Where can I find a specific home's tax district? The county assessor's records list it, and the Weld Mill Levy Report shows every authority in that district along with its levy.
This post is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Have your lender, a tax professional or the county assessor confirm the numbers for a specific property.
At Meagan Griesel, every Windsor comparison we prepare puts the builder's incentive, the county tax district code and the resale seller's room to negotiate on one page, so you can see what each home costs in year one and in year seven. Start your neighborhood-focused strategy and get a custom plan built on the actual numbers for the homes you're considering.
