Rates did not really drop. What changed is that Denver sellers started paying to bring them down. These are the 296 homes where they have put it in writing.
If you ran the numbers on a Denver house in the last two or three years and the payment did not work, you were probably right at the time. Here is what has changed since then, and it is not the rate on the news.
Sellers started paying to buy the rate down. When a home sits, a seller has two ways to move it. Cut the price, or hand the buyer money at closing. A price cut helps a little. The same dollars pointed at the interest rate usually help a lot more, because they buy down the number that every single payment for the next thirty years is calculated from.
Every home in this list has language in its own MLS remarks offering a concession, a rate buydown, or both. This is not a guess about what a seller might do. It is what they published.
Most buyers take a concession as closing cost help, spend it once and forget it. Pointed at a permanent buydown instead, the same money lowers the payment every month you own the house.
Days on market and price cuts are printed next to every home for a reason. A seller who has already given up real money on price is the seller most likely to say yes to moving it to the rate.
A published concession is the seller already saying yes. It is still a negotiation over how much and what it gets used for, and a few of these will not survive contact with a real offer. That part is the actual work, and it is the part I do. Nothing in this document is a guarantee of a rate, a payment, or a term.
This is the comparison that matters, and it is the one almost nobody runs before they decide they cannot afford to move. The purchase price does not change. What changes is where the seller’s money goes.
| What the seller’s money gets used for | Your monthly payment | Difference |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing. No concession negotiated. | $2,413 | — |
| Taken as closing cost help | $2,413 | $0 a month |
| Pointed at the interest rate instead | $2,074 | $339 a month less |
| Home | Price | Full payment | Year one with a buydown | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Condo8248 Washington St #98, Denver | $250,000 | $2,251 | $1,916 | $335/mo |
| Townhome15497 E Louisiana Ave, Aurora | $275,000 | $2,413 | $2,074 | $339/mo |
| Starter single family9755 Elizabeth St, Thornton | $384,900 | $3,061 | $2,559 | $502/mo |
| Higher end single family5925 W Long Dr, Littleton | $800,000 | $5,081 | $4,251 | $830/mo |
What this list will not do. It will not tell you what you qualify for, and it will not tell you which of these homes is right for your family. It tells you where the money already is. Deciding what to do about it is a conversation, and you do not have to have that conversation to use this document.
A keyword search finds the word. It does not read the sentence. I opened every one of these and read the seller’s actual remarks, then threw out the ones that did not hold up. What follows is what survived, with the seller’s own words quoted so you can judge it yourself.
What got thrown out, and why it matters: roughly a third of the listings I opened did not survive. Some had lender promotions that expired in June. Some were short sales where the concession needs a bank’s approval. Several actually said the seller will not pay concessions, and the search matched the word anyway. That is exactly why the back of this document is labeled the way it is.
Larkspur · Single family · 4 bd / 4 ba · MLS 8390657
“The seller is also offering a 2-1 mortgage rate buydown, providing substantially lower monthly mortgage payments during the first two years.”the seller’s own listing remarks
Already cut $104,000 off the original price, and still offering to buy the rate down on top of it.
Littleton · Single family · 4 bd / 4 ba · MLS 5036664
“Take the full $27,000 as a price reduction OR use the seller's $27,000 concession to buy down your rate to as low as 5.375%. The choice is yours.”the seller’s own listing remarks
The clearest example in the whole list. The seller has already done the math and named the rate.
Louviers · Single family · 4 bd / 2 ba · MLS 8210274
“10K CONCESSION!!”the seller’s own listing remarks
$250,000 below where it started and nearly ten months on market. The concession is the smallest part of what is negotiable here.
Evergreen · Single family · 4 bd / 2 ba · MLS 6558575
“SELLER WILL CONSIDER A CONCESSION AMOUNT FOR A POSSIBLE RATE BUY-DOWN!!”the seller’s own listing remarks
No dollar figure named yet, which means the number is the negotiation.
Golden · Condo · 2 bd / 4 ba · MLS 9289236
“Seller is open to contributing towards buyer closing cost or a rate buydown.”the seller’s own listing remarks
Open ended, which is usually better than a capped number if you ask correctly.
Denver · Single family · 5 bd / 3 ba · MLS 9822273
“This home comes with a REDUCED RATE as low as 5.625% (APR 5.861%). This is a seller paid rate-buydown that reduces the buyer's interest rate and monthly payment.”the seller’s own listing remarks
Seller paid, not lender paid, and the rate is already published. Two blocks from Sloan's Lake with a separate income unit.
Parker · Single family · 6 bd / 4 ba · MLS 4596365
“Seller willing to contribute toward buyer closing costs or interest rate buydown with acceptable offer.”the seller’s own listing remarks
$105,100 off the original ask already.
Parker · Single family · 4 bd / 4 ba · MLS 8245669
“The seller is offering a $5,000 Buyer Concession that can be applied toward closing costs, an interest rate buy-down, or other approved buyer expenses.”the seller’s own listing remarks
Built 2017, new roof in 2024. The seller has named the money and left the use open.
Broomfield · Single family · 4 bd / 4 ba · MLS 7225903
“Offering up to a $30,000 concession with an acceptable offer!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Sixteen months on market, $100,100 off the original price, and $30,000 still on the table. This is the most motivated seller on the list.
Denver · Townhome · 3 bd / 4 ba · MLS 2419485
“Take advantage of up to $12,000 in seller concessions toward a 2-1 interest rate buydown.”the seller’s own listing remarks
$100,100 below the original ask, with the concession already earmarked for the rate.
Littleton · Single family · 3 bd / 3 ba · MLS 9328147
“SELLER OFFERING CONCESSIONS OR RATE BUY DOWN!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Sterling Ranch, across from the park, unfinished basement to grow into.
Thornton · Single family · 4 bd / 3 ba · MLS 8300242
“$10,000 SELLER CONCESSION OFFERED!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Nearly ten months on market. Single level living, roof and water heater both 2023.
Brighton · Single family · 5 bd / 4 ba · MLS 1836590
“ASSUMABLE FHA LOAN AT 2.375% INTEREST RATE. Seller is also offering $10,000 in concessions to the buyer, plus a 1% lender credit.”the seller’s own listing remarks
If you qualify to assume, this is the lowest payment on the entire list by a wide margin, and the $10,000 stands whether you assume or not.
Westminster · Single family · 3 bd / 2 ba · MLS 3915527
“Seller is open to offering concessions, including assistance with buyer closing costs or an interest rate buydown.”the seller’s own listing remarks
$71,000 off the original price. Easy access to both Denver and Boulder.
Commerce City · Single family · 3 bd / 3 ba · MLS 6225084
“We are offering $10,000 in seller concessions!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Roughly 2.2% of the price, which is real buydown money at this level.
Aurora · Townhome · 3 bd / 3 ba · MLS 4253645
“SELLER IS OFFERING $10,000 CONCESSION FOR RATE BUY DOWN OR CLOSING COSTS!!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Three years old, in Harmony. The seller named both the money and the use.
Denver · Condo · 3 bd / 2 ba · MLS 9401914
“SELLER OFFERING $5,000 CONCESSION WITH ACCEPTABLE OFFER! PLUS, BUYERS MAY QUALIFY FOR UP TO $17,500 IN GRANT ASSISTANCE.”the seller’s own listing remarks
The grant is a separate program with its own qualifying rules. Worth checking before you rule it out.
Commerce City · Single family · 2 bd / 3 ba · MLS 9696340
“Seller concession available for interest rate buy-down with acceptable offer!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Newer construction in Reunion, seven months on market.
Englewood · Single family · 2 bd / 1 ba · MLS 4399691
“Seller is offering a seller concession in the amount of $10,000 for a full price offer to be used for rate buydown or other prepaids.”the seller’s own listing remarks
$60,000 off the original. The $10,000 is tied to a full price offer, which is a trade worth running the math on.
Wheat Ridge · Single family · 2 bd / 1 ba · MLS 3687044
“SELLER OFFERING $5000 CONCESSION TOWARDS CLOSING COSTS / BUY DOWN!”the seller’s own listing remarks
Duplex that lives like a single family, no HOA, private fenced yard.
Read this part differently. Every home below has the word buydown or concession somewhere in its listing remarks. I have not opened each one individually, so treat this as a starting map rather than a verified list. Based on the ones I did read, expect roughly two out of three to hold up, and expect a few to say the opposite of what you are hoping.
Ask me about any address here and I will read it and tell you which kind it is before you spend a Saturday on it.
Tell me which one and what you are actually working with for a down payment, and I will send back the real payment on that specific house, both ways, with the seller’s concession applied.
You do not have to get on a call for any of this. Reply and I will send the numbers.