Boulder’s most prestigious neighborhoods don’t just command premium prices — they command premium prices in a market that has systematically removed the ability to build more supply. The Blue Line ordinance has capped hillside development since 1959. Open space acquisition programs have permanently preserved more than 45,000 acres, removing them forever from residential use. Strict zoning and height limits govern what can be built within city limits. The result is a housing market where Newlands, Mapleton Hill, Chautauqua, and Pine Brook Hills represent genuinely finite inventory — neighborhoods where properties, once occupied, can remain off-market for years, and where the right home, when it surfaces, trades at prices that place it firmly in Super-Jumbo financing territory.
Newlands carries a median single-family price of $2.85 million. Mapleton Hill reaches $2.65 million at the median, with the finest Victorian estates and premium view lots trading from $3 million to $5 million and above. Chautauqua’s most sought-after properties — those with direct Flatirons views and immediate trailhead access — command $3 million and above for the homes that rarely come available. Pine Brook Hills, at elevations from 5,800 to nearly 7,000 feet with Continental Divide views and private access to the Betasso Preserve, sees custom mountain estate properties listed from $2 million to well over $5 million. These are not markets served by standard banking products. They require portfolio lenders,
relationship-driven underwriting, and a mortgage broker who understands both the financing complexity and the long-term value case that supports it.
The buyers active at this level in Boulder include senior technology executives at Google’s Pearl Street campus and the broader Colorado tech ecosystem, lead scientists and division heads at NCAR and NREL, tenured CU Boulder faculty with academic endowments and consulting income, and high-net-worth buyers relocating from California and other coastal markets where Boulder’s pricing, even at the $3–$5 million tier, represents material value compared to equivalent properties in the Bay Area or Los Angeles. Ryan Lehrman, NMLS #235295, structures Super-Jumbo mortgage loans in Boulder for all of these profiles.
Super-Jumbo mortgage loans are generally defined as loans above $3 million, though some portfolio lenders draw the threshold at $2.5 million. These transactions fall outside standard jumbo program guidelines and are structured through portfolio lenders — institutions that hold the loan on their own books — private banks, and specialized non-QM lenders who underwrite each file individually rather than applying standardized checklists. In Boulder, Super-Jumbo lending is the appropriate financing vehicle for purchases in Newlands, upper Mapleton Hill, premium Chautauqua properties, and estate-scale Pine Brook Hills homes where acquisition prices exceed $2.5–$3 million.
Super-Jumbo programs in Boulder also serve buyers whose wealth profile is concentrated in investment assets, research endowments, or business equity rather than earned W-2 income — making asset depletion programs particularly relevant for the city’s academic, scientific, and entrepreneurial buyer base. Boulder’s unique employer mix — federal research institutions operating on GS pay scales, university faculty earning academic salaries supplemented by outside income, tech founders holding illiquid equity — means a meaningful share of Super-Jumbo buyers in Boulder have qualifying profiles that require creative and experienced lender matching.
Newlands, Mapleton Hill, and Chautauqua estate properties — often on large lots with mountain or Flatirons views that cannot be replicated elsewhere in Boulder at any price — qualify for portfolio programs offering 70–75% LTV on primary residences at loan amounts from $3 million to $10 million. These lenders evaluate the full borrower financial picture, including net worth, reserve depth, employment stability, and long-term income trajectory, rather than applying formulaic income ratios. Properties in these neighborhoods, given Boulder’s structural supply constraints, present well-understood long-term collateral value arguments that portfolio lenders familiar with the Boulder market evaluate favorably.
A meaningful segment of Boulder’s Super-Jumbo buyer population has accumulated significant wealth in investment portfolios, retirement accounts, CU endowment distributions, or business equity — but their current earned income, measured on a W-2 or Schedule C, understates their real financial capacity. Asset depletion programs allow documented liquid and near-liquid assets to be converted to a calculated qualifying income, enabling these buyers to access Super-Jumbo financing based on what they have rather than solely on what they currently earn. A retiring CU Boulder research scientist with $7 million in an investment portfolio, for example, may qualify for a substantial Super-Jumbo purchase through asset depletion without relying on current employment income at all.
Boulder receives a consistent flow of high-net-worth buyers relocating from the San Francisco Bay Area, Los Angeles, New York, and other coastal markets — often tech founders, senior executives, or professionals who have exited companies, vested large equity packages, or achieved liquidity events that produce substantial but irregular income. These buyers frequently carry complex tax returns, large capital gains from stock or real estate sales, and asset profiles that don’t map neatly onto standard income documentation frameworks. Portfolio Super-Jumbo lenders with experience in tech-exit and liquidity-event qualifying are the right fit, and Ryan has the relationships to match these profiles to the appropriate programs.
Custom builds on premium lots in Pine Brook Hills, Chautauqua Heights, or the available infill opportunities in Newlands and Mapleton Hill at $3 million and above require Super-Jumbo construction-to-permanent financing — a single loan covering land, construction draws, and permanent mortgage, with the permanent rate locked before the first shovel moves. These transactions require a lender fluent in both custom construction underwriting and Super-Jumbo portfolio lending.
Newlands — Boulder's Highest-Median Neighborhood
Newlands holds the highest single-family median price in Boulder at $2.85 million. The neighborhood is located in north-central Boulder between 4th Street and Folsom, close to the CU Boulder campus, the North Boulder Recreation Center, and a short bike or walk from Pearl Street Mall. Its appeal is consistent: large older homes on substantial lots, a quiet residential character, and proximity to every amenity that defines Boulder's lifestyle without the hillside elevation that limits some of the city's western neighborhoods. Google's Pearl Street campus has reinforced demand from high-income tech professionals for Newlands specifically — the neighborhood's walkability to the office makes it highly desirable for tech buyers. Most Newlands transactions above the neighborhood's median require Super-Jumbo financing or cash.
Mapleton Hill — Historic Prestige, Finite Supply
Mapleton Hill's Victorian, Craftsman, and Colonial Revival homes are among the most architecturally significant residential properties in Colorado. The neighborhood's location — a 10-minute walk to Pearl Street Mall, 15 minutes to Chautauqua trailheads — combined with its historic character and genuinely limited supply makes it one of the state's most defensible luxury markets. Active listings rarely exceed three to five at any given moment; off-market trading is common among well-connected buyers. Prices range from $1.5 million at the entry level to $5 million and above for the finest estate-scale Victorian homes on premium lots. Buyers at $2.5 million and above are firmly in Super-Jumbo territory.
Pine Brook Hills — Mountain Estates, Unreplicable Views
Pine Brook Hills sits in the foothills four miles from Pearl Street, at elevations that offer 270-degree views spanning the eastern plains, the city of Boulder below, and the snow-covered peaks of the Continental Divide to the west. Properties are custom mountain residences on lots typically ranging from half an acre to five acres and above. The neighborhood's direct access to the Betasso Preserve's mountain biking and hiking trails from residential streets creates an outdoor lifestyle that is simply not available elsewhere at this proximity to an urban center. Custom estate properties on prime lots range from $2 million to $5 million and above; the scarcity of available lots and the constraint imposed by the Blue Line ordinance on surrounding terrain make existing properties here nearly impossible to replicate. Super-Jumbo financing is the appropriate vehicle for most transactions above the $2.5 million threshold that characterizes the neighborhood's upper tier.
Portfolio lender and private bank access — relationships with institutions that underwrite Super-Jumbo transactions as individual files based on full financial picture
Asset depletion expertise — correct documentation and calculation of investment portfolio, endowment, and retirement income for qualifying purposes
Tech-exit and liquidity-event experience — capital gains, stock sale proceeds, and equity vesting events documented correctly for the lenders who understand them
Federal research and academic income — GS-scale pay, grant income, and consulting revenue assembled into qualifying packages that portfolio lenders can evaluate accurately
Boulder market credibility — understands Blue Line restrictions, open space preservation, and the structural supply arguments that support long-term collateral value in Boulder's upper-tier neighborhoods
Absolute confidentiality — Super-Jumbo transactions are handled with the discretion their participants expect
Ryan Lehrman, NMLS #235295
Loan amount: Generally $3 million and above; some portfolio programs begin at $2.5 million
Credit profile: Typically 720+ minimum; 740–760+ preferred at higher loan amounts; portfolio lenders evaluate the full credit history rather than solely the score
Income documentation: W-2, self-employed, federal GS-scale, academic, asset depletion, liquidity-event, and complex hybrid income profiles all eligible; documentation requirements vary significantly by lender and program
Down payment and reserves: Typically 20–30% down at $3M+; 24+ months PITI reserves standard; larger reserve positions can strengthen marginal income qualifications in some portfolio programs
Early confidential consultation — Super-Jumbo transactions in Boulder benefit significantly from pre-contract engagement; Ryan reviews the full income and asset profile to identify the correct portfolio lender and structure the presentation of your file before you are in contract on a Newlands, Mapleton Hill, or Pine Brook Hills property.
Documentation assembly — tax returns, investment account statements, employment letters, grant documentation, consulting agreements, stock sale records, CU endowment distribution statements, and any other relevant income and asset documentation organized into a complete package.
Portfolio lender introduction — Super-Jumbo lenders at this tier frequently require introductory conversations before issuing a pre-approval commitment; Ryan facilitates this process and ensures you are presented to the lender most likely to approve your specific profile on the best available terms.
Underwriting — expect a more intensive and iterative process than standard jumbo; additional documentation requests are routine; Ryan manages communication and responses from submission through conditions clearance.
Closing — final conditions cleared, closing coordinated; transactions at this tier often involve entity vesting, trust structures, and more complex title arrangements that Ryan coordinates with the appropriate professionals.
Yes — through an asset depletion program. Documented liquid and near-liquid assets (investment accounts, retirement accounts, money market holdings, and in some programs business equity or real estate equity) are converted to a calculated monthly qualifying income figure using a lender-approved formula — typically dividing eligible assets by 60 to 84 months. A researcher with $6 million in a managed investment portfolio might qualify for a monthly income calculation of $71,000 to $100,000, which could support a Super-Jumbo purchase in Newlands or Mapleton Hill without relying primarily on GS-scale base pay. Documentation requirements are thorough — most recent statements, account history, and verification of liquid status — and Ryan can evaluate whether your asset profile is sufficient to support a depletion-based qualification before you begin the process.
It can help significantly, if documented correctly and matched to the right lender. A large capital gain from a business or equity sale demonstrates substantial liquidity and wealth accumulation, which portfolio Super-Jumbo lenders evaluate favorably. The complexity is that capital gains are typically a one-time event, and lenders need to assess whether your ongoing income — base salary, consulting, investment returns, or asset depletion — is sufficient to support the loan after the gains year. Ryan works with Boulder's tech-exit buyer community specifically and knows which portfolio lenders have the most favorable underwriting standards for buyers in the year following a liquidity event, and how to position a two-year tax return file that includes both a large gain year and a transitional year.
Mapleton Hill and Newlands have such constrained inventory — often fewer than five active listings in each neighborhood at any time — that sellers frequently prefer to transact quietly through agent networks rather than exposing the property to public listing. Off-market trades are common at Boulder's upper tier generally. From a financing standpoint, this means buyers need to have their pre-approval or portfolio lender relationship established before the opportunity surfaces, not after — because off-market sellers often set compressed timelines. Ryan's approach is to structure Super-Jumbo pre-approvals in advance of your active search, particularly in neighborhoods where the right property may appear on 24 to 48 hours' notice and won't wait for a lender engagement that hasn't started yet.
Super-Jumbo transactions benefit from early engagement. Let’s have a confidential conversation about your property and financial profile.
Originally from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, I moved to Phoenix to attend Arizona State University and have proudly called Phoenix home ever since.
My journey into the mortgage industry began with a friend’s encouragement, who saw how my energy and people-first mindset could make a difference. He was right — I found my calling.
I’ve always embraced what makes me different. With ADHD as my secret weapon, I thrive in fast-paced, detail-heavy environments. I’ve built my career on clear communication, creative problem-solving, and putting clients first, always.
Outside of work, my greatest motivation is my wife and three amazing kids. I’d be honored to help guide you through your lending journey with care, clarity, and commitment.
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