Massachusetts First-Time Home Buyer Programs in 2026: Where the Down Payment Help Really Is

MassHousing's down payment assistance pairs with a MassHousing 30-year fixed mortgage. Qualifying first-time buyers can receive up to $30,000 toward a down payment, either as a 0% interest deferred loan repaid when you sell or refinance, or through a lower-cost amortizing option. MassHousing first mortgages can come with down payments as low as 3%, and through its MI Plus product, eligible loans carry no private mortgage insurance.

ONE Mortgage, run by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership, works from the loan side: a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage with a 3% minimum down payment, below-market rates, and no private mortgage insurance. It is built for buyers earning at or below 100% of the area median income, and it is one of the most generous first-time programs in the country.

Say the numbers concretely. On a $600,000 home, 3% down is $18,000, and MassHousing assistance can cover much of that depending on your income. For a first-time budget, that is often the difference between a condo that works now and a house that stretches too far.

That matters more here than in most of Massachusetts. Coastal towns like Beverly, Salem, and Peabody all have entry points at different price levels, and the program you qualify for helps decide which one is real for you. The Ask Kathleen answer on buying your first home here walks through the broader picture.

Both programs define first-time the way most lenders do: you have not owned your primary home in the past three years. The home must be your primary residence, and the property can be a house, a condo, or a two- to four-unit building you live in.

Income limits are set against area median income and change every year. MassHousing publishes current limits and current rates on its official site, and the commonwealth does the same for ONE Mortgage, so the honest answer is always: check the current numbers, then talk it through. Limited-time state offers come and go, and when one opens the news moves fast, which is why it pays to have a preapproval ready before a window closes.

Your first step is not house shopping, it is getting preapproved, because every program above starts with the loan. The affordability question comes right after, and both are conversations I help buyers start every week.

The first-time buyer fall checklist on this site lays out the season-by-season rhythm, and closing costs are the second number every first-timer forgets to budget.