A New 1% Down Loan Just Launched. Here Is Where It Works in Denver.
- Jerad Larkin
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
A lender announced a 1 percent down mortgage on August 5, and within a week three different Denver agents forwarded me the same headline asking whether it was real.
It is real. It is also capped in a way most of the coverage skipped past, and the cap is the entire story for us. Run the math and the program tops out around a $383,000 purchase price. The Denver Metro median close price in July was $605,000. So the question is not whether the program works. The question is which slice of your pipeline it works for, and whether you can name that slice before the agent across the street does.
What is the new 1 percent down mortgage and does it work in Denver?
ONE by Lower lets qualified buyers put 1 percent down with a 2 percent lender grant capped at $4,500. The $375,000 loan limit puts the Denver Metro price ceiling near $383,000, so it fits condos, townhomes, and entry-level Colorado homes.
I am Jerad Larkin, a Sales Executive with Chicago Title Colorado, and I spend most of my week sitting across from Denver Metro real estate agents and the lenders they send business to. When a new financing product drops, agents do not need the press release rewritten. They need to know who in their database it actually applies to, and what to say about it without overpromising something that falls apart at underwriting.
So here is the whole thing, with Denver math attached. If you have been watching the Denver affordability gap squeeze your buyer side, this is one more tool worth knowing cold.
What Is ONE by Lower and Why Are Denver Agents Asking About It?
Lower, a Columbus-based lender that also owns the Movoto portal, announced ONE by Lower on August 5, 2026. It was one of four proptech launches Inman covered that same week, which is part of why it got attention fast and detail slow.
The pitch is simple. Down payment savings, not income and not credit, is the wall most first-time buyers hit. The program attacks that one wall and nothing else.
The Three Numbers That Define the Program
Everything that matters about this loan lives in three numbers.
First, the buyer brings 1 percent of the purchase price from their own funds. On a $350,000 home in Aurora, that is $3,500.
Second, Lower contributes a 2 percent lender grant, capped at $4,500. No repayment, no recapture, no resale restriction. Because of the cap, any Denver Metro purchase above $225,000 gets a flat $4,500 rather than a true 2 percent.
Third, and this is the one nobody is quoting, the maximum loan amount is $375,000. That single line decides whether this program is relevant to your buyer or not.
How Does It Compare to an FHA Loan?
FHA generally wants 3.5 percent down at a 580 score. On a $380,000 Denver Metro townhome, that is $13,300 out of pocket before closing costs. Under ONE by Lower, the same buyer brings $3,800.
That is roughly a $9,500 swing on the cash-to-close line. For a buyer who has been saving for two years and is still $8,000 short, that difference is the entire deal. It is also the difference between a buyer who keeps renting through another spring and a buyer who is under contract in October.
What Is the Real Price Ceiling in Denver Metro?
This is where most agents will either use the program well or embarrass themselves in front of a client. Run the arithmetic before you post about it.
The Math on the $375,000 Loan Cap
The buyer puts down 1 percent of the price plus a flat $4,500 grant. So the loan equals 99 percent of the price minus $4,500. Set that equal to the $375,000 cap and solve, and you land on a maximum purchase price of about $383,000.
At that ceiling, the buyer's own money down is roughly $3,830. Not $19,150. Not $13,400. About thirty-eight hundred dollars, plus closing costs, which the grant does not cover.
Compare that ceiling to reality. The Denver Metro median close price in July 2026 was $605,000 according to DMAR Market Trends, and I broke down what that month actually looked like in my July 2026 Denver market recap. A $383,000 ceiling sits far below the middle of our market. That does not make the program useless. It makes it specific.
What Does $383,000 Actually Buy in Denver Metro?
Under that ceiling you are largely shopping condos, townhomes, and entry-level attached product, plus detached homes in the more affordable pockets of Adams County, Aurora, Commerce City, Federal Heights, Northglenn, and Thornton. Plenty of Colorado Springs and Pueblo inventory clears it comfortably too.
If you are steering a buyer toward a condo at this price point, get the HOA questions answered early. Financing on Denver Metro condo projects got tighter this month after Fannie Mae retired the Limited Review pathway, and a low-down-payment buyer has no cushion if the project itself gets flagged late in the file.
Who Actually Qualifies for the 1 Percent Down Program in Colorado?
The price ceiling is only half the filter. Income is the other half, and it is the half that quietly disqualifies a lot of Denver Metro households.
The 80 Percent AMI Test
Total household income cannot exceed 80 percent of the Area Median Income where the property sits. Not the buyer's income. Household income.
Do not guess this number and do not repeat one you saw on a social post. AMI is set by county and household size, and it moves every year. Look it up on the HUD income limits dataset for the specific Colorado county, or let the loan officer pull it. A dual-income couple in Denver County can blow past 80 percent AMI faster than most agents expect.
The Fine Print to Read Before You Promise Anything
A few program conditions are worth knowing before you say a word to a client. Single-unit properties only. First-time and repeat buyers are both eligible. A minimum credit score applies. Homebuyer education or first-time buyer status may be required. The grant covers down payment, not closing costs. Terms and availability can change without notice.
That last item on closing costs is where your negotiation skill earns its keep. Seller concessions can still be applied toward closing costs, and 63 percent of Denver sales now include a concession. Pairing a 1 percent down structure with a concession request is how you get a buyer to the table with almost nothing in the bank.
How Does This Compare to CHFA and Colorado Down Payment Assistance?
Honest answer: for most Denver Metro buyers, CHFA still reaches further. CHFA price and income limits are built for Colorado, not for a national average, and its assistance can be layered with metroDPA and other local programs.
What ONE by Lower does better is the cash-to-close number at the very bottom of the price range. One percent from the buyer's own funds is about as low as it goes on a conventional purchase, and the grant carries no repayment or recapture strings.
The right framing for a Colorado agent is not either-or. It is a menu. Have your lender run CHFA, check current program details directly with CHFA, and run this alongside it. Then hand your buyer a one-page comparison instead of a rumor.
How Should Denver Agents Use This Without Overpromising?
Every time a headline like this lands, a wave of agents post it verbatim to Instagram, generate a handful of leads, and then spend two weeks telling people they do not qualify. That is a reputation cost, not a marketing win.
The Three Sentences to Give a Buyer
One: there is a new program that lets some buyers put down as little as 1 percent of their own money. Two: it caps the loan at $375,000, which in Denver Metro means roughly a $383,000 purchase price, and there is a household income limit tied to your county. Three: I will have my lender run your numbers this week and tell you yes or no in writing.
Three sentences. No hype, no exposure, and it converts better than a screenshot of a press release.
The Referral Move Most Agents Miss
Do not sit on this alone. Take it to the two or three lenders you actually trust and ask a specific question: do you have this product, and if not, what is your closest equivalent right now?
Being the agent who brings a lender a real question instead of a coffee invitation is how referral relationships start moving in the other direction. Part of what I do at Chicago Title Colorado is connect Denver Metro agents with the lenders and escrow teams who can actually execute on deals like these, and the agents who ask sharper questions get introduced to sharper partners.
Then build a short list. Pull every buyer in your database who paused because of the down payment, filter for anyone shopping under $383,000, and send five personal texts this week. Not a blast. Five texts.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the maximum home price for the 1 percent down mortgage in Denver?
Roughly $383,000. The program caps the loan amount at $375,000, and because the buyer contributes 1 percent plus a $4,500 grant, the purchase price ceiling works out just above $383,000 in Denver Metro and everywhere else in Colorado.
Is a 1 percent down mortgage worth it for a Denver real estate agent to promote?
It is worth knowing cold and worth mentioning to the right buyers. It is not worth promoting broadly in Denver Metro, because the price ceiling sits well below our median close price and most of the leads a broad post attracts will not qualify.
How do Colorado buyers qualify for the 80 percent AMI income limit?
Total household income must fall at or below 80 percent of Area Median Income for the county where the property is located. AMI varies by county and household size across Colorado, so pull the current HUD figure or have the loan officer verify it before quoting anything to a client.
Can Colorado buyers combine a 1 percent down loan with seller concessions?
Seller concessions can still be applied toward closing costs, which matters because the lender grant covers down payment only. With most Denver Metro sales now including a concession, that pairing is often what gets a low-cash buyer to the closing table.
Does this replace CHFA down payment assistance for Denver buyers?
No. CHFA and local Colorado programs like metroDPA generally reach a wider band of Denver Metro price points and incomes. Treat the 1 percent down program as one option on the menu, not a replacement, and have your lender compare both side by side.
If you want the Denver Metro market data, financing comparisons, and marketing systems I build for agents, everything lives at milehightitleguy.com. Reach out anytime and I will send you the tools, plus the classes I have coming up across the Front Range.
Jerad Larkin
Sales Executive | Chicago Title Colorado
milehightitleguy.com
Comments