DENVER — Across Denver, home buyers are starting to see a shift in the market. A lot different than just six months ago.
“We are still a sellers’ market,” said Denver Realtor, Francelia Goodloe.
People are getting priced out of buying a home, even as interest rates drop and the market calms shifts.
“People are stabilizing, and houses are staying on the market a little bit longer. Which makes it a little bit easier for buyers to get in that were not able to get in a couple of months ago,” she said.
Goodloe is working to get her clients into the homes of their choice, especially her clients of color. She’s educating her buyers on city programs available through the department of housing stability.
“Denver offers two programs, they offer the Denver Metro DPA which is down payment assistance. And they have the HOST,” Goodloe said.
To qualify for the HOST program, buyers must:
- Be approved by a lender
- Have a credit score of 620
- Meet HUD guidelines
The MetroDPA program is a program that provides down payment assistance of either 15,000 or 25,000 dollars.
To qualify, a buyer must:
- Have a credit Score of 640
- Be a resident or a descendant of someone who lived in a redlining neighborhood between 1938 – 2000 with documentation to prove it
- Qualify for 15,000 in down payment assistance if you make more than 80% of the area median income
- Qualify 25,000 in down payment assistance if you make less than 80% of the area median income
“We really feel that home ownership is a key and important thing for stable neighborhoods and communities. And in particular, we wanted to offer this for residents and former residents of Denver who lived in these redlined neighborhoods,” said the Department of Housing Stability Finance Specialist, Andrew Johnston.
The other goal of this program is to increase homeownership among the BIPOC community. According to Johnston, 41% of homeowners in Denver are BIPOC. They want to increase that to 45%.
Since the MetroDPA program launched in April, 170 have applied, and 114 have been approved. So far, 12 have closed on a home including one of Goodloe’s clients.
“We want to make sure that race is no longer a determinant in homeownership opportunities and this program takes a big step in moving that forward,” Johnston said.
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