Colorado · First-time buyers
Colorado First-Time Home Buyer Programs: What You Actually Qualify For in 2026
Quick answer
Colorado's main first-time buyer program is CHFA: the Colorado Housing and Finance Authority. It offers 30-year fixed mortgages paired with either a down payment assistance grant of up to 3% of your loan or a second mortgage of up to 4%. Denver, Colorado Springs and Aurora each run additional local programs on top.
I'm a licensed Mortgage Loan Originator. Colorado has more first-time buyer assistance than almost any state, and most buyers I talk to have heard of none of it beyond the name CHFA. This page is every program I'd check for you, what each is actually worth, and where the limits bite.
Eligibility
Who counts as a first-time home buyer in Colorado?
Broader than most people assume. For CHFA and most Colorado programs, a first-time buyer is anyone who hasn't owned a primary residence in the past three years. Owning a home five years ago doesn't disqualify you. Neither does owning a rental you never lived in, in most cases.
Two important exceptions widen it further. Qualified veterans are frequently exempt from the first-time requirement entirely. And in targeted areas — specific census tracts CHFA designates — the first-time requirement is often waived for everyone.
If you assumed you were ineligible, check before you rule yourself out.
The state program
What is CHFA, and what does it actually offer?
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority is a state-chartered organisation that doesn't lend directly to you — it works through approved participating lenders. You apply with a lender; CHFA supplies the loan program and the assistance.
There are three loan families, and the one you use determines what assistance you can pair with it.
CHFA FirstStep and FirstStep Plus
A 30-year fixed FHA mortgage for first-time buyers and qualified veterans. Credit minimum is 620, though 580 may be possible through an approved lender. Built for low-to-moderate income buyers in your area.
CHFA Preferred and Preferred Plus
A 30-year fixed conventional loan. The distinguishing feature is a minimum borrower contribution of just $1,000 — and that $1,000 can be a gift. Preferred Plus adds a second mortgage of up to 4% of your first mortgage amount. Credit minimum 620. Income and purchase price limits apply, and a CHFA-approved homebuyer education course is required.
CHFA HomeAccess and HomeAccess Plus
For first-time buyers and qualified veterans living with a permanent disability, or those who are the parent or guardian of a dependent with one. HomeAccess Plus adds an optional $25,000 second mortgage. This is one of the most generous disability-linked homebuying programs in the country and it is badly under-used.
Assistance
How much down payment assistance can you get in Colorado?
CHFA offers two forms and you choose one:
| Type | Amount | Repayment |
|---|---|---|
| DPA Grant | Up to 3% of your mortgage amount | Never repaid |
| DPA Second Mortgage | Up to 4% of your first mortgage | Repaid on sale, refinance, or payoff |
The grant is smaller but free. The second mortgage is larger but sits on your title until you sell or refinance. On a Colorado median-priced home the difference is roughly $5,000 in additional help versus a lien you'll settle later.
Local programs stack on top
| Program | Area | Amount | Structure |
|---|---|---|---|
| metroDPA | Denver | Up to 5% of loan amount | 0% interest, forgiven if you stay 3 years |
| El Paso County Turnkey Plus | Colorado Springs | Up to 5% of loan value | 0% interest, no monthly payments; half forgiven over 5 years, remainder at payoff |
| Aurora Home Ownership Assistance | Aurora | Up to $10,000 or the minimum required down payment, whichever is less | “Silent” loan — 0% interest, no payments, not forgivable; repaid on sale, move, or refinance |
| NeighborhoodLIFT | Adams, Arapahoe, Denver, Douglas, Jefferson counties | $15,000 | Education required |
| CHAC (Colorado Housing Assistance Corporation) | Statewide | Second mortgage | Monthly payments required; $1,000 minimum contribution that cannot be a gift ($750 for the disability program) |
Read the Aurora row carefully. Its assistance is a silent loan that is not forgiven — you repay it in full whenever you sell, move or refinance. That's still useful money, but it's a deferred debt, not a gift, and the marketing rarely makes that distinction clear.
Denver's metroDPA is the standout: 5% of your loan, zero interest, and fully forgiven after three years of living there. We break the city-by-city picture down further in our down payment assistance guide.
The limits
What are the CHFA income and purchase price limits?
This is where most Colorado buyers rule themselves out incorrectly. The limits are far more generous than people assume, and most CHFA programs have no purchase price cap at all.
Most CHFA programs: one income limit, no price cap
SmartStep, Preferred, HomeAccess, Schools to Home and Section Eight programs all use a single income limit of $178,920 — regardless of household size, regardless of county — and carry no purchase price limit.
That's the sentence worth re-reading. If you're using SmartStep or Preferred, there is no maximum house price, and a household earning under $178,920 qualifies anywhere in Colorado. That covers the overwhelming majority of first-time buyers in this state.
FirstStep and FirstGeneration: county limits apply
Only the FirstStep and FirstGeneration programs use county-level income and purchase price limits. Here they are for the counties covering Ownify's Colorado markets:
| County | Markets | Income limit, 1–2 person | Income limit, 3+ person | Purchase price limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver | Denver | $172,800 | $201,600 | $832,750 |
| Jefferson | Lakewood, Arvada | $172,800 | $201,600 | $832,750 |
| Arapahoe | Aurora, Centennial | $172,800 | $201,600 | $832,750 |
| Adams | Westminster, Thornton | $172,800 | $201,600 | $832,750 |
| Boulder | Boulder, Longmont | $150,000 | $172,500 | $832,750 |
| Broomfield | — | $144,000 | $165,600 | $832,750 |
| Douglas | — | $144,000 | $165,600 | $832,750 |
| Larimer | Fort Collins | $156,480 | $182,560 | $811,790 |
| Weld | Greeley | $153,600 | $179,200 | $735,320 |
| El Paso | Colorado Springs | $153,360 | $178,920 | $692,670 |
| Pueblo | Pueblo | $153,360 | $178,920 | $692,210 |
Effective for new loan locks on or after June 15, 2026. Income limits rose about 2.6% and purchase price limits about 2.3% from the prior schedule — if you were quoted the old numbers, you may qualify now when you didn't before.
Put those numbers against the market
Colorado's median sold price in April 2026 was $547,300. Every single county limit above clears it:
- Denver metro's $832,750 cap is 52% above the state median
- Even Pueblo's $692,210 — the lowest on the list — is 26% above it
The purchase price cap is not what's stopping you. In the Denver metro you could buy a home at $800,000 and remain inside the FirstStep limit.
So what actually disqualifies people?
Three things, in order of how often I see them:
Income above the county limit. This is the real constraint, and it counts all household income — not only the people on the loan. A working adult child or a live-in partner not on the mortgage still counts. Check this before assuming anything.
The VLIP tier, if you're aiming at it. CHFA Preferred VLIP — the very-low-income program — uses a much lower threshold: $72,000 in Denver County, $43,850 in Pueblo. That's a genuinely restrictive program, and it's a different product from standard Preferred. Don't confuse the two; people see $72,000, assume it applies to all of CHFA, and walk away.
Credit below 620. More often the binding constraint than income, and often a months-not-years fix.
The practical takeaway
If your household earns under roughly $150,000 and you're buying under $690,000, you are inside CHFA's limits in every county Ownify serves. If you're using SmartStep or Preferred, there's no price cap to clear at all.
Most people who tell me they "don't qualify for CHFA" have never checked the actual numbers.
Credit
What credit score do you need for CHFA?
| Program | Minimum |
|---|---|
| CHFA FirstStep (FHA) | 620, possibly 580 via an approved lender |
| CHFA Preferred (conventional) | 620 |
| CHFA HomeAccess | Standard CHFA requirements |
| Ownify fractional ownership | 660 |
If you're at 580+, that's usually a months-not-years problem. Clearing a collections account or reducing a card below 30% utilisation often moves a score enough to qualify. Talk to a lender before assuming you need to wait a year.
The numbers
How much do you need to buy a house in Colorado?
Colorado's median sold price was $547,300 as of April 2026, down 0.83% year over year. Here's what each path requires:
| Path | Cash required on $547,300 |
|---|---|
| Conventional 20% | $109,460 |
| FHA 3.5% | $19,156 |
| Conventional 3% (first-time buyer) | $16,419 |
| CHFA Preferred | $1,000 minimum contribution |
| Ownify fractional, 2% | $10,946 |
Add closing costs of roughly 2–5% — another $11,000 to $27,000 on a median home — which is the number that surprises people. Several of the programs above cover closing costs as well as down payment.
The key arithmetic: CHFA's 3% grant on an FHA loan of roughly $528,000 is about $15,800 — against an FHA down payment requirement of $19,156. The grant covers roughly 83% of it. Pair CHFA with Denver's metroDPA at 5% and your out-of-pocket down payment can reach zero. That is the single most useful fact on this page and almost nobody in Colorado knows it. If you're starting from nothing saved, our guide to no down payment home loans covers the VA and USDA routes that skip the down payment entirely.
Market data
What's changed in the Colorado market in 2026?
It has shifted toward buyers, quietly.
| Metric | April 2026 | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Median sold price | $547,300 | −0.83% |
| Median listing price | $560,000 | −2.34% |
| Active listings | 51,854 | +8.43% |
| Median days on market | 46 | +15% |
More inventory, slower sales, softening prices. For a first-time buyer that combination means negotiating room that didn't exist two years ago — and time to complete an assistance-backed purchase without losing the house to a cash offer, which was the practical reason CHFA buyers lost out during the frenzy. Our Colorado market reports break this down city by city.
Source: Realtor.com Economic Research, April 2026.
Alternatives
What if you don't qualify for CHFA?
The common disqualifiers are income above the county limit, a purchase price above the cap, or credit below 620.
If that's you, the honest options are a straight FHA loan at 3.5% down, a conventional 3% program without assistance, or a fractional structure. If you've been looking at lease contracts instead, read our breakdown of rent-to-own alternatives in Denver first.
With Ownify you buy a share of the home with as little as 2% down — about $10,946 on Colorado's median — with investor capital covering the rest. You're on title as a partial owner from move-in and buy additional shares over roughly five years before transitioning to a traditional mortgage. Credit minimum is 660. Here's how fractional ownership works.
To be direct: if you qualify for CHFA, use CHFA. A 3% grant you never repay beats what we offer, and we'll tell you that. Fractional ownership is for buyers CHFA's limits exclude.
Side by side
Comparing every Colorado path
| Feature | CHFA FirstStep + DPA grant | CHFA Preferred | metroDPA (Denver) | Ownify fractional |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cash to close | Often near $0 | $1,000 minimum | Stacks on CHFA | ~$10,946 (2%) |
| Loan type | FHA 30-yr fixed | Conventional 30-yr fixed | Layers on a first mortgage | Fractional purchase |
| Assistance | 3% grant or 4% second | Up to 4% second (Plus) | Up to 5%, forgiven at 3 years | n/a |
| Repaid? | Grant: never | Second: on sale/refi | Forgiven after 3 years | n/a |
| Credit minimum | 620 (580 possible) | 620 | Per first mortgage | 660 |
| Income limit | Yes, by county | Yes, by county | Yes | No |
| Price cap | Yes, by county | Yes, by county | Yes | $750k |
| Education required | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
Next steps
How do you apply?
- Check the limits first. Income and purchase price caps disqualify more people than credit does. Verify your county's numbers at chfainfo.com before anything else.
- Complete homebuyer education. Nearly every program requires it and it takes time. Starting early removes it from your critical path.
- Work with a CHFA participating lender. CHFA doesn't lend directly. Not every lender is approved, and not every approved lender offers every program.
- Get pre-qualified before you shop. With 46 days on market and inventory up 8.43%, you have more room than buyers had recently — but sellers still prefer a buyer who's already underwritten.
- Ask specifically about stacking. Whether you can layer metroDPA or a county program on top of CHFA is the single question that most changes your cash to close, and it's the one buyers forget to ask.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
What is CHFA and how does it work?
The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority is a state-chartered organisation offering 30-year fixed mortgages with down payment assistance to first-time and moderate-income buyers. It doesn't lend directly — you apply through a CHFA participating lender, who provides both the mortgage and the assistance.
How much down payment assistance does CHFA give?
Either a grant of up to 3% of your mortgage amount that is never repaid, or a second mortgage of up to 4% of your first mortgage, repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the loan. You choose one.
What credit score do you need for a CHFA loan?
620 for both FirstStep and Preferred, with 580 potentially available on FirstStep through an approved lender.
Do you have to be a first-time buyer to use CHFA?
Generally you must not have owned a primary residence in the last three years. Qualified veterans are often exempt, and the requirement is frequently waived entirely in CHFA-designated targeted areas.
Can you combine CHFA with Denver's metroDPA?
Programs are often stackable, and stacking is what gets Denver buyers to near-zero out of pocket. Confirm with your CHFA participating lender for your specific combination — this is the highest-value question you can ask them.
How much do you need to buy a house in Colorado?
On the $547,300 median: $109,460 at 20% down, $19,156 with FHA, $10,946 with Ownify's 2%, or as little as $1,000 with CHFA Preferred. Add 2–5% for closing costs, some of which assistance programs also cover.
Program terms, funding and eligibility change frequently — verify all figures with CHFA and the administering agency before relying on them.
Sources
- CHFA program structures, metroDPA, El Paso County Turnkey Plus, Aurora HOAP, NeighborhoodLIFT, CHAC — The Mortgage Reports, Colorado first-time buyer guide 2026. Verify each against the administering agency.
- Colorado median sold price, listings, days on market — Realtor.com Economic Research via Norada, April 2026