First-time buyers · Boston & Massachusetts
Boston first-time home buyer grants and down payment assistance
There is real money available here — up to $50,000 from the City of Boston, up to $30,000 from MassHousing — and the rules change more often than most published guidance keeps up with. Every figure below comes from the body that administers the programme, with the date it was checked.
Ask which of these you qualify forStart with the two that matter most
If you are buying in Boston, the City's First-Time Homebuyer Program is usually the largest single sum available to you, and MassHousing's assistance is the one that works anywhere in the state. They are administered separately, so eligibility for one tells you nothing about the other.
Two things worth knowing before you read the amounts. First, a grant and a deferred loan are not the same thing, and both appear below — the difference shows up when you sell. Second, almost every programme here has an asset test as well as an income test, and the asset test is the one people fail without expecting to.
City of Boston First-Time Homebuyer Program
OpenAdministered by Boston Home Center
A grant toward the purchase of a one- to three-family home or condominium in Boston, scaled to household income.
- Households under 100% of area median income: 3% of the purchase price, to a maximum of $50,000, plus closing costs where applicable. The larger of the two tiers. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- Households between 101% and 135% of area median income: 2% of the purchase price, to a maximum of $35,000. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- Deed-restricted properties: 2% of the purchase price, regardless of income tier. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- The property must be a one- to three-family home or a condominium in Boston, and must be your primary residence. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- First-time buyer is defined as not having owned a home in the past three years. Household income must be under 135% of area median income, and household assets must be under $100,000. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- You must graduate from the Boston Home Center's Homebuying 101 class and hold a pre-approval from a participating lender. The loan must fall within Fannie Mae general loan limits. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
What to watch for
- The $100,000 asset limit catches people who assume the test is income only. Retirement accounts and gift funds sitting in your name can count — ask the Boston Home Center how your specific assets are treated before you assume you are ineligible, and before you assume you are not.
- The Homebuying 101 class is a prerequisite, not a formality, and it takes scheduling. Start it before you are under agreement rather than after.
- The property must be in Boston. A home in Brookline or Cambridge does not qualify, however close it is.
MassHousing Down Payment Assistance
OpenAdministered by MassHousing
A second loan covering down payment and closing costs, available statewide, paired with a MassHousing mortgage.
- Up to $30,000 at 0% interest, deferred — nothing is repaid until you sell, refinance or pay off the first mortgage. The deferred option. No monthly payment. MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
- Up to $25,000 at 2% fixed APR, amortised over 15 years — roughly $160.88 a month on the full amount. MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
- Up to $25,000 at 3% fixed APR, amortised over 15 years — roughly $172.62 a month on the full amount. MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
- Available in all communities in the Commonwealth, for first-time buyers purchasing a primary residence: single-family, condominium, or two- to four-family property. MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
- It must be paired with an affordable MassHousing Mortgage loan. It is not available alongside an unrelated lender's mortgage. MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
What to watch for
- It is a loan, not a grant, even in the 0% deferred form. It is repaid on sale, refinance or payoff — which matters if you expect to move within a few years.
- It only works with a MassHousing mortgage, so the decision is really about the whole financing package rather than the assistance in isolation. Compare the total cost against a conventional loan rather than treating the assistance as free money.
- Income limits apply and vary by area. MassHousing publishes them separately from this page — check yours before budgeting around it.
MassHousing expanded $25,000 interest-free assistance
ClosedAdministered by MassHousing / Commonwealth of Massachusetts
A temporary expansion offering $25,000 at 0% to buyers earning up to 135% of area median income. The lock window has closed.
- Offered up to $25,000 at 0% interest with deferred repayment, usable for down payment, closing costs, prepaid mortgage insurance, or to buy down the rate. Announced as available to buyers earning up to 135% of area median income. Commonwealth of Massachusetts — expanded downpayment assistance announcement
- Required a MassHousing mortgage rate lock within a defined window. The closing date was brought forward from 31 July 2026 to 2 July 2026 because demand exceeded the available funds. This is the detail most published guidance misses. Pages written before the change still show the later date. Commonwealth of Massachusetts — expanded downpayment assistance announcement
What to watch for
- This is listed because you will find pages still advertising it as open. If you read about $25,000 interest-free assistance somewhere else, this is probably what it was, and the lock window has passed.
- Programmes like this recur. If it suits your situation, it is worth asking MassHousing or a participating lender whether a successor is planned rather than assuming the door is permanently shut.
ONE Mortgage and ONE+Boston
OpenAdministered by Massachusetts Housing Partnership / Boston Home Center
A 30-year fixed mortgage with 3% down and no private mortgage insurance. ONE+Boston is the city's enhanced version.
- ONE+Boston is the City of Boston's enhanced version of the ONE Mortgage programme, offering a lower fixed rate on a 30-year mortgage plus down payment and closing-cost assistance to first-time buyers. Administered through the Boston Home Center, with the same Homebuying 101 requirement. City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
What to watch for
- The absence of private mortgage insurance is the part worth understanding. On a conventional loan under 20% down, mortgage insurance is a real monthly cost that buys you nothing — removing it can matter more than a slightly lower headline rate.
- Income and purchase-price limits apply and vary by community. Confirm yours before assuming eligibility.
Can you combine them?
Sometimes, and it is the question worth asking first rather than last. City and state programmes are administered by different bodies with different rules, and stacking is neither automatic nor forbidden.
The practical route is to raise it with the Boston Home Center and with a participating lender at the same time, before you are under agreement. Lenders who do this regularly know which combinations work in practice, and that knowledge is not published anywhere — it is the reason a lender referral is worth more than another article at this stage.
Budget realistic time for it. Between the Homebuying 101 class, pre-approval and the application itself, this is weeks rather than days, and a seller will not wait while you start the process from scratch.
Questions about buyer assistance in Boston
What first-time home buyer grants are available in Boston?
The City of Boston's First-Time Homebuyer Program is the main grant. Households under 100% of area median income can receive 3% of the purchase price to a maximum of $50,000, plus closing costs where applicable. Households between 101% and 135% of AMI receive 2% of the purchase price to a maximum of $35,000. The property must be a one- to three-family home or condominium in Boston and your primary residence.
How much down payment assistance can I get in Massachusetts?
MassHousing offers up to $30,000 at 0% interest with repayment deferred until you sell, refinance or pay off the mortgage, or up to $25,000 amortised over 15 years at 2% or 3%. It is available statewide but must be paired with a MassHousing mortgage. Boston buyers may be able to combine city and state assistance — that is a question for the Boston Home Center and a participating lender.
Is down payment assistance a grant or a loan?
It depends on the programme, and the distinction matters. Boston's First-Time Homebuyer Program is a grant. MassHousing's Down Payment Assistance is a second loan — even the 0% deferred version is repaid when you sell, refinance or pay off the first mortgage. Treating a deferred loan as free money is the most common misunderstanding here.
Do I have to be a first-time buyer?
For these programmes, yes — but the definition is more generous than it sounds. Boston defines a first-time buyer as someone who has not owned a home in the past three years. Previous ownership does not permanently disqualify you.
Is there an asset limit as well as an income limit?
For Boston's programme, yes. Household assets must be under $100,000, alongside household income under 135% of area median income. This is the requirement most often missed, because most published summaries mention only the income test. How specific assets are treated is worth confirming with the Boston Home Center directly rather than assuming either way.
What was the $25,000 interest-free program I read about?
A temporary MassHousing expansion offering $25,000 at 0% to buyers earning up to 135% of area median income. Its rate-lock window was brought forward from 31 July 2026 to 2 July 2026 because demand exceeded the funds available, so it has closed. Many pages still advertise it as open with the later date. Programmes like it recur, so it is worth asking a participating lender whether a successor is planned.
Do I need to take a class?
For the City of Boston programmes, yes — you must graduate from the Boston Home Center's Homebuying 101 class before applying. It is a prerequisite rather than a formality, and it takes scheduling, so start it well before you are under agreement rather than after.
Can I use assistance on a multifamily property?
Often yes, which surprises people. Boston's programme covers one- to three-family properties as well as condominiums, and MassHousing's assistance covers two- to four-family properties, provided the home is your primary residence. Buying a two- or three-family and living in one unit is a well-trodden route into ownership in this market.
Sources
Every figure on this page is reproduced from the source listed against it, for orientation rather than as advice. Massachusetts fiscal years roll on 1 July and municipalities republish on their own schedules, so confirm anything you plan to rely on before you rely on it.
- City of Boston — First-Time Homebuyer Program
- MassHousing — Down Payment Assistance
- Commonwealth of Massachusetts — expanded downpayment assistance announcement
Last verified .
Not sure which of these you qualify for?
Send your rough household income, savings and the towns you are considering. Devarshi will tell you which programmes are worth pursuing — and will say so if the answer is none of them yet.