Lakewood 80226 vs. 80232 in 2026: About $3,592 vs. $3,558 a Month for a First Home

Oct 20

Quick answer: At the median sale prices for the three months ending September 2026, $534,843 in Lakewood 80226 and $529,844 in 80232, a first-time buyer putting 3% down at Freddie Mac's 7.40% average 30-year rate pays about $3,592 vs. $3,558 a month in principal and interest. The bigger gap is pace: 39 vs. 16 median days on market.

By Nick Ahrens, Colorado real estate broker license FA.100104470, eXp Realty, LLC

First-time buyers who start a Lakewood search in 80226 and 80232 tend to ask me one thing first: which zipcode is cheaper to get into? The two sit next to each other in DMHP's Lakewood searches, and their median sale prices landed only $4,999 apart, so the monthly payment barely separates them. Cash at closing, help with the down payment and how fast homes go under contract are where they differ.

Market figures come from Redfin's 80226 and 80232 zipcode pages, checked October 20, 2026, for the three months ending September 2026. They count every home type in each zipcode, while the DMHP zipcode searches linked below show houses from $600,000. Every payment is principal and interest only.

What is the monthly payment on a first home at the 80226 and 80232 medians?

About $3,592 a month in 80226 and about $3,558 in 80232 with 3% down, a gap of about $34, on a 30-year fixed loan at Freddie Mac's 7.40% average as of October 15, 2026.

Put 5% down and the payments fall to about $3,518 and $3,485. At 20% down, which is the loan profile Freddie Mac's survey describes, they drop to about $2,963 and $2,935. None of these include property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance or HOA dues. Your rate depends on your credit and loan type, so read 7.40% as a starting line rather than a quote. Browse the Lakewood 80226 houses for sale and the Lakewood 80232 houses for sale.

3% down: about $3,592 a month in 80226 and about $3,558 in 80232
5% down: about $3,518 in 80226 and about $3,485 in 80232
20% down: about $2,963 in 80226 and about $2,935 in 80232
Median sale price: $534,843 in 80226, down 0.86% from a year earlier, and $529,844 in 80232, up 2.3%

How much cash does a first-time buyer need for 3% down in 80226 or 80232?

About $16,045 in 80226 and $15,895 in 80232 for 3% down at the median, before closing costs, and a standard Fannie Mae loan with that little down needs at least one first-time buyer on it.

Fannie Mae's purchase transaction requirements allow 95.01% to 97% financing on a fixed-rate loan with a term of up to 30 years, for a one-unit home you will occupy, and at least one borrower must have had no ownership interest in a home during the prior three years. Its 97% loan-to-value options page adds that when every borrower moving in is a first-time buyer, at least one of them has to complete homeownership education. HomeReady, the other 97% option, does not require first-time status but carries its own eligibility limits. At 5% down the cash rises to about $26,742 and $26,492, and at 20% down to about $106,969 and $105,969. Closing costs are extra in every case; the Front Range buyer costs checklist lists them, and the HOA vs. no-HOA guide for west metro homes covers dues.

3% down: $16,045 in 80226 and $15,895 in 80232, on loans of about $518,798 and $513,949
5% down: $26,742 in 80226 and $26,492 in 80232
20% down: $106,969 in 80226 and $105,969 in 80232

Can a CHFA grant cover a 3% down payment on an 80226 or 80232 home?

Nearly: CHFA's grant is up to the lesser of $25,000 or 3% of the first mortgage, which on a 3% down loan at each median is about $15,564 in 80226 and $15,418 in 80232, leaving about $481 and $477 of the down payment to cover yourself.

The Colorado Housing and Finance Authority's down payment assistance page says the grant needs no repayment. Its second mortgage option goes up to the lesser of $25,000 or 4% of the first mortgage, about $20,752 and $20,558 here, with repayment deferred until you sell, refinance or pay off the first loan. Both options require one of CHFA's own first mortgage programs, and CHFA notes that higher interest rates apply, so the payments above would rise. CHFA sets its own eligibility rules, and only a CHFA participating lender can tell you whether you qualify. The first-time buyer plan for the west metro explains how I get that lender answer before your first tour.

Which zipcode moves faster for a first-time buyer, 80226 or 80232?

80232, by a wide margin: Redfin's median days on market was 16 there against 39 in 80226, and its Compete Score was 83 against 73.

Redfin says the average 80232 home goes pending in around 14 days and a hot one in around 4, against around 30 and around 9 in 80226. In 80226, 51.6% of listings cut their price, up 12.2 points from a year earlier, while 43.3% did in 80232, down 0.98 point. Sales above list were close, 21.9% in 80226 and 22.5% in 80232, and both fell from a year earlier, by 4.6 and 9.56 points. In 80232, have the pre-approval letter and proof of your down payment ready before you tour, because the typical home there has gone pending in about two weeks. In 80226 you are more likely to meet a seller who has already cut once.

Median days on market: 39 in 80226 and 16 in 80232
Redfin Compete Score: 73 in 80226 and 83 in 80232, both rated very competitive
Listings with a price drop: 51.6% in 80226 and 43.3% in 80232
Sold above list: 21.9% in 80226 and 22.5% in 80232

What does the payment become at the $600,000 floor of the DMHP 80226 and 80232 searches?

About $4,030 a month with 3% down, roughly $438 more than the 80226 median payment and $471 more than the 80232 one, because the DMHP zipcode searches start at $600,000.

A $600,000 house sits $65,157 over the 80226 median and $70,156 over the 80232 median. The 3% down payment is $18,000 on a loan of $582,000, and with 20% down, or $120,000, the payment is about $3,323. Redfin's median counts condos and townhomes along with houses, while these searches show houses only, so the two are not the same yardstick. If you want a detached house, budget from the $600,000 line. For houses at that level, use the Lakewood houses from $600K to $800K, the Lakewood houses for sale search, which filters by city rather than zipcode, and the Front Range houses from $600K to $800K. The neighboring Lakewood 80215 houses for sale, Lakewood 80227 houses for sale and Lakewood 80235 houses for sale start at the same floor, and the first-time vs. move-up buyer guide shows how I set a price band before we choose zipcodes.

Do all 80226 and 80232 addresses sit inside Lakewood city limits?

Not all: in the Census Bureau's 2020 boundaries, 99.4% of the land in 80226 is inside Lakewood and 0.6% is in Denver, while 80232 has 86.4% of its land in Lakewood, 12.7% outside any city or town and 0.9% in Denver.

Those Denver slivers are the only parts of either zipcode outside Jefferson County. These are shares of land, not of homes, and annexations since 2020 can shift the lines. For a first-time buyer, the 12.7% in 80232 is the share worth checking, since city limits decide whether the City of Lakewood or Jefferson County is your local government. Look up any Jefferson County address with the Jefferson County Address Lookup, then pull the parcel from the Jefferson County Assessor property records search. For a Denver address, the Denver property search does the same job. The shares come from files on the Census Bureau's 2020 relationship files page.

Where do you check the school district for an 80226 or 80232 address?

Run the Jeffco articulation areas lookup for any Jefferson County address and the Denver Public Schools boundary page for the small Denver slivers, then confirm the assigned schools for the exact house.

The Jeffco articulation areas lookup lists the schools that serve a Jefferson County address, and the Denver Public Schools boundary schools page handles Denver addresses. For the state's published reports on any school, open CDE SchoolView.

Should a first-time buyer shop 80226 or 80232?

Shop 80232 if your financing is ready and you want the slightly lower median, and shop 80226 if you want more time on each decision and more sellers who have already cut their price.

Choose 80226 if:

You want more time to decide, with a median of 39 days on market
You are watching for price cuts, with 51.6% of listings dropping price
You want an address inside Lakewood, which covers 99.4% of its land

Choose 80232 if:

You want the lower median, at $529,844, and a payment of about $3,558 with 3% down
Your pre-approval is ready, since homes sold in a median of 16 days
You are open to an address outside city limits, which covers 12.7% of its land

Broker view: "Between 80226 and 80232 the payment difference is about $34 a month, so I never let that pick the zipcode. What I push first-time buyers on is cash and timing: get the lender letter and the CHFA answer before the first showing, because in 80232 the house you like has usually gone pending within about two weeks." - Nick Ahrens, eXp Realty, LLC

What this guide does not cover: property tax bills, homeowners insurance and mortgage insurance premiums, HOA and metro district dues for specific subdivisions, FHA, VA and CHFA loan rates, closing cost totals, and the age, condition and inspection costs of homes in either zipcode. I can pull any of these for a house you are serious about.

Sources: Redfin's 80226 and 80232 zipcode housing market pages, three months ending September 2026, checked October 20, 2026. Rate from Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey as of October 15, 2026. Loan rules from Fannie Mae's Selling Guide topic on purchase transactions and its 97% loan-to-value options page. Grant and second mortgage limits from CHFA's down payment assistance page. Land and county shares from the Census Bureau's 2020 zipcode-to-county and zipcode-to-place relationship files. I did the payment, cash and land-share math myself.

Want me to run the payment on a specific 80226 or 80232 house? Call or text 949-230-3625, or request a tour.

Frequently asked questions

What is the monthly payment with 3% down at the Lakewood 80226 and 80232 medians?

About $3,592 in 80226 and $3,558 in 80232 in principal and interest, based on the $534,843 and $529,844 medians for the three months ending September 2026 and Freddie Mac's 7.40% average 30-year rate as of October 15, 2026. Property tax, insurance, mortgage insurance and HOA dues are extra.

Who can use a 3% down conventional loan on an 80226 or 80232 home?

Under Fannie Mae's standard 97% option, at least one borrower has to be a first-time homebuyer, meaning no ownership interest in a home during the past three years. The loan must be fixed-rate with a term of up to 30 years, on a one-unit home you will occupy. HomeReady drops the first-time requirement but carries its own eligibility limits.

How much can a CHFA grant cover on a median-priced 80226 or 80232 home?

CHFA's grant is up to the lesser of $25,000 or 3% of the first mortgage. On a 3% down loan at each median, that comes to about $15,564 in 80226 and $15,418 in 80232. It requires a CHFA first mortgage program, and CHFA says higher interest rates apply.

How fast do homes sell in 80226 compared with 80232?

Redfin's median days on market for the three months ending September 2026 was 39 in 80226 and 16 in 80232, and its Compete Score was 73 in 80226 and 83 in 80232.

Nick Ahrens is a Colorado real estate broker (license FA.100104470) with eXp Realty, LLC, helping buyers and sellers across Denver's west metro. Call or text 949-230-3625, or request a tour.

Nick Ahrens