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A New Path to Homeownership: East Idaho Credit Unions Collaborate on New No-Down-Payment Mortgage Program

Posted by on March 4, 2026

In May 2025, the GoWest Foundation convened a group of credit unions serving East Idaho to explore the challenges communities in the region are facing. Like many places in the GoWest region, and across the country, affordable housing is a key challenge, as evidenced by a 2025 report by the National Association of Realtors that found Idaho ranks near the top of the list of states where homes affordable to middle-income, first-time buyers are the most difficult to find.

As a result, a collaboration of four credit unions — Connections Credit Union, Frontier Credit Union, ICCU, and Westmark Credit Union — have banded together to create a 100% mortgage financing program for first-time homebuyers.

“Rather than approaching the challenge independently, we saw an opportunity to amplify our impact by working together with the support of the GoWest Foundation,” explained Adam Stewart, Chief Lending Officer at Frontier Credit Union. “By modeling the program after the Tucson Welcome Home Program and collaborating across institutions, we’re able to share expertise, align resources, and demonstrate the cooperative spirit that defines credit unions.”

The East Idaho mortgage program is expected to have similar features and consumer benefits as the Welcome Home program, including:

  • No down payment requirement
  • No private mortgage insurance requirements
  • No origination fees
  • Interest rate pricing comparable to conventional 30-year fixed mortgages

The GoWest Foundation’s focus on workforce housing continues to foster transformative initiatives, and the new East Idaho program and Tucson credit union’s Welcome Home program exemplify how collaboration between credit unions creates impactful solutions that benefit entire communities.

“At its core, this program represents credit unions doing what we were founded to do — working cooperatively to meet member needs and improve the financial well-being of the communities we serve,” Stewart said.

To learn more about this program or to discuss housing collaboration ideas, contact the GoWest Foundation team.

Posted in Community Impact, GoWest Foundation, Idaho, Regional Member News, Top Headlines.

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