We see the 1%-down programs used, just rarely along the coast, and price points are the reason. These are lender-specific programs built on Fannie Mae's HomeReady and Freddie Mac's Home Possible: you contribute 1%, the lender adds a grant of roughly 2%, and eligibility is capped at 80% of area median income. Two things to hold onto: - They come and go. A given lender may offer one this quarter and pull it next, they are never guaranteed to be available, and they carry real limitations, so confirm current eligibility before counting on one. - The income cap collides with coastal prices. Buyers who qualify under the 80% AMI limit often cannot support the payment on an entry-level home in coastal or Southern California, so the math rarely lines up there. Where prices are lower, parts of the Central Valley, inland areas, and some regions north of the Bay Area, the programs get real use. Even then they are one option among several rather than the default. Whether one fits you comes down to the home price, your income against the current AMI limit for that county, and how the payment compares with the alternatives, like standard 3%-down conventional or FHA. Compare on total monthly cost at your actual price point rather than chasing the headline down payment. That side-by-side is what we run in a free Roadmap call.