Colorado first-time home buyer programs: down payment help

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority (CHFA), the state housing agency, makes first-time buyer loans through approved lenders. Its down payment help of up to $25,000 is either a grant of 3% of the loan or a second mortgage of 4%. You need a 620 credit score, a homebuyer class and income under county limits.

Cities, land trusts and mountain-town housing authorities add their own programs, and figures below are dated where the source gives a date. For the national basics, read our guide to first-time home buyer programs.

How do CHFA's loans work?

CHFA's general rules for purchase loans, which your lender verifies, are these.

• Credit score. A mid-credit score of 620 or higher. CHFA's FAQ says there may be exceptions for people with no credit score, and the lender does the underwriting.
• Income. Income must not exceed CHFA's limits. For FirstStep, CHFA counts the gross income of all applicants, a spouse who will live there, and anyone else who will live there and be liable on the loan. For its other loans it counts the income the lender uses to qualify you.
• Class. Each borrower must complete a CHFA-approved homebuyer education class before closing.
• Your own money. At least $1,000 toward the purchase, which for FirstStep may be a gift.

CHFA's FirstStep loan is a 30-year loan insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). For FirstStep you must be a first-time buyer, meaning no ownership interest in a main home during the last three years, or a qualified veteran. In targeted areas you do not need to be a first-time buyer. CHFA says targeted areas are federally designated, can be whole counties or some census tracts, and may have higher limits. CHFA does not allow cosigners or non-occupying co-borrowers. See our guide to FHA loan requirements for the federal side.

What down payment help does CHFA offer?

You can use one of two kinds of help with a CHFA first mortgage. You cannot use both.

For FirstStep, CHFA describes the second mortgage as a zero-percent silent second with no monthly payments and no accrued interest. The 3% and 4% amounts are for a 30-year fixed-rate loan, and CHFA's pages say higher interest rates apply with these options, without saying how much, so ask your lender to compare. People with a permanent disability and first-generation homebuyers can get specific programs of up to $25,000 regardless of the first mortgage amount.

What are the 2026 income limits by county?

CHFA's table took effect June 15, 2026. Limits depend on the county, on household size, on whether the home is in a targeted area, and on the loan. These columns are for FirstStep outside targeted areas, in yearly household income.

Targeted areas can have higher limits, and some counties, such as Boulder, have the same limits in both. Find your county in the full table. CHFA's SmartStep, SectionEight, Preferred, Colorado HFA, HomeAccess and Schools to Home loans use one income limit of $178,920 in every county and have no price limit, though the loan itself is capped. A Very Low Income Program has lower county limits, such as $72,000 in Denver. For how limits are set, see what area median income means.

What do cities and land trusts add?

• Boulder. The city's Permanently Affordable Homes Program sells homes below market price to income-eligible buyers, with an affordability covenant that limits resale. Its Solution Grant helps buyers with lower assets, but only on select permanently affordable homes and Thistle Communities Land Trust homes in the city. Its H2O loan is a shared-appreciation second loan of up to $100,000 on market-rate homes in the city. There are no payments for 30 years unless the home is sold, and then the full amount is due with a share of the appreciation. The page lists a 2026 middle-income table at 150% of median, $157,500 for one person and $225,000 for four, and says H2O's limit is 120% of median, so read the live page for which limit applies.
• Elevation Community Land Trust. Lists land trust homes in Denver, Aurora and Fort Collins. Its 1427 Uinta Street listing in Denver says only buyers qualified by the trust, with income within the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's multifamily tax subsidy limits, can buy, that they may get up to $25,000 in down payment help, and that a $100 monthly land lease fee applies.
• Mountain towns. Housing authorities in Summit, Eagle, Gunnison, San Miguel and Pitkin counties list deed-restricted homes in the listings we track. Summit's page says some homes require you to work 30 or more hours a week in Summit County and have no income limit, and others have income limits that vary by home. See our Colorado listings and each authority's own page.

What affordable homes for sale does Colorado have right now?

As of October 5, 2026, we track 57 open Colorado listings, and 56 are homes for sale. See the Colorado page, the Denver page and all listings.

• Boulder: 10 permanently affordable homes, with maximum prices from $174,669 to $294,218, sold first come, first served or by lottery to certified buyers.
• Elevation Community Land Trust: 11 homes in Denver, Aurora and Fort Collins, from $152,000 to $375,000.
• Mountain towns: homes listed by the authorities in Summit, Eagle, Gunnison, San Miguel and Pitkin counties.

Most listings show their own income rules, and we could not read every limit. Confirm with each program.

How do you avoid grant scams?

The Federal Trade Commission says the government does not contact you out of the blue about grants, and no government agency will contact you to demand that you pay to get one. CHFA does not lend money directly to consumers, so a site that promises a CHFA loan without a participating lender is not what it seems. Use a counselor from the housing counselor search.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Take a CHFA-approved homebuyer class. The certificate is valid for 12 months, and you must be under contract before it expires.
2. Pick a CHFA participating lender and ask which loan and which kind of help fit.
3. Check your county and area in the limits table.
4. Ask your city or land trust about local help.
5. Try our eligibility check against the listings we track. What you type stays in your browser. See how to qualify for affordable housing.