AURORA, Colo. — The City of Aurora has launched a new down payment assistance program to help more residents become homeowners.
The program will cover between 4% and 10% of the home's purchase price.
Aurora’s Manager of Community Development Sarah Pulliam said high rents create a barrier to saving for a down payment on a home.
“The City of Aurora is trying to position ourselves to help residents knock down that barrier and build wealth for their family and their future, and we're really excited about this opportunity,” Pulliam said.
To qualify, the home must be located within the City of Aurora. Eligible households may earn up to 120% of the area median income. That’s up to $168,000 for a family of four. Households must have at least $1,000 for their part of the down payment.
“Unfortunately, it is a first-come, first-served type of program. We want them to come with their pre-approval letters from their lenders that will make it a much easier process for them,” Pulliam said.
The down payment assistance program is funded by a $720,000 grant from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs drawn from Proposition 123 funding. Prop. 123 directs a portion of state sales tax revenues to projects improving housing outcomes for Coloradans.
The city estimates it can help at least 24 households before the funding runs out.
Aurora previously had a down payment assistance program, but it ended in 2020 during the pandemic when the economy slowed down. Priorities shifted toward keeping people in their homes through rental assistance and mortgage assistance.
Aurora has many housing-related programs such as financial counseling, housing rehabilitation, and homelessness services.
“We just found that getting people into their own homes was something that was missing in our programs, so we wanted to bring that down payment assistance program back to support our residents becoming home buyers,” Pulliam said.
Applications can be found here. Contact brcarter@auroragov.org or call 303-739-7900 for more information.
The program ends Oct. 31, 2026.
