First-Time Buyer Programs in MA & NH, Explained

Most first-time buyers in Massachusetts do not need 20% down. Between MassHousing down payment assistance of up to $30,000 and low down payment mortgages that start at 3%, the cash you actually need to close is usually far less than the number in your head. And if you are buying in Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, or Haverhill, you may qualify at a higher income limit than someone buying one town over, because those four are Gateway Cities.

That last point is the one almost nobody tells buyers, and it is worth understanding before you rule yourself out.

How much do you actually need for a down payment in Massachusetts?

The 20% figure is a myth for most first-time buyers. It comes from the threshold where private mortgage insurance drops off, not from any rule about qualifying.

In practice, first-time buyers here are closing with:

• 3% down on a conventional loan, including MassHousing and NH Housing Home Preferred mortgages
• 3.5% down on an FHA loan
• 0% down on a VA loan, if you or your spouse served

The gap between 3% and 20% is enormous at Merrimack Valley prices. Against a $570,000 home, which is roughly the median Methuen sale right now, 3% is $17,100 while 20% is $114,000. That is the difference between buying this year and buying in six years.

Down payment is also not the only cash you need. Closing costs, prepaid taxes and insurance, and inspection fees are real. This is exactly what down payment assistance is designed to absorb.

MassHousing down payment assistance: up to $30,000

MassHousing is the state's affordable housing bank, and its down payment assistance is the program most Merrimack Valley first-time buyers should look at first.

What it offers:

• Up to $30,000 in down payment assistance for eligible first-time buyers
• Mortgage insurance paid by MassHousing on its mortgage products, which lowers the monthly payment
• Eligible on a single-family home, a condominium, or a 2, 3, or 4 family property, as long as it is your primary residence
• Must be paired with a MassHousing mortgage

The multi-family piece deserves attention. A 3-family in Lawrence or Haverhill that you live in while renting the other two units is an eligible purchase, not an exception. That is how a lot of buyers here get their footing.

Assistance amounts, interest terms, and income limits are set by MassHousing and do change, sometimes mid-year. Promotional offers appear and expire. Confirm the current terms before you build a plan around a specific number, and be skeptical of any article, including older ones, quoting a promotion that may have already closed.

Why Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, and Haverhill buyers qualify at a higher income limit

MassHousing sets its income limit two different ways depending on where you buy:

• Up to 135% of area median income in Boston and the Commonwealth's 26 Gateway Cities
• Up to 100% of area median income everywhere else in Massachusetts

Four of the towns we work in every day are Gateway Cities: Lawrence, Lowell, Methuen, and Haverhill. Andover and North Andover are not.

The practical effect is that two buyers with identical income and identical savings can get different answers depending only on which town the house is in. A household that is over the limit for a purchase in Andover may be comfortably under it for a purchase in Methuen, a few minutes up the road.

Recent figures put the 135% eastern Massachusetts limit around $205,335, but AMI numbers are recalculated periodically and vary by household size, so treat that as a ballpark rather than a cutoff to plan around. The reason to know about the Gateway City distinction is not the exact dollar figure. It is that being told "you earn too much for assistance" may simply be the wrong answer for the town you are actually shopping in.

If you are weighing towns, our Methuen market page and Lawrence market page show what is actually selling in each.

Buying in New Hampshire: the Home Preferred program

New Hampshire Housing runs the equivalent programs north of the border, and the structure is different enough to matter if you are shopping both states.

The Home Preferred program offers:

• A conventional mortgage with 3% down, or 5% down on a multi-family property
• Up to $15,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance
• Assistance structured as a second mortgage at 0% interest, with no monthly payment on it, over a 30-year term
• Repayment triggered when you sell, refinance, stop using the home as your primary residence, or reach the end of the term

A maximum income around $184,500 has been cited for the program, with a separate tier for households under 80% of area median income. As with the Massachusetts programs, verify the current number rather than assuming.

For buyers comparing Salem or Nashua against Methuen or Haverhill, New Hampshire's lack of a state income tax and sales tax is usually part of the conversation. It is a real factor, but property tax rates and assessment practices differ enough that it should be run as a full monthly cost comparison, not a rule of thumb. Our mortgage calculator is a reasonable starting point for that.

What this looks like against real Merrimack Valley prices

Here is 3% down against what homes are actually closing for in each town, based on MLS PIN closed sales from May through early August 2026:

• Lawrence, median sale $498,000: 3% is about $14,900
• Haverhill, median sale $537,000: 3% is about $16,100
• Methuen, median sale $570,000: 3% is about $17,100
• Lowell, median sale $463,500: 3% is about $13,900

Now layer assistance on top. If a buyer in one of those Gateway Cities qualifies for MassHousing assistance, a meaningful share of that down payment can come from the program rather than from savings. Combined with seller-paid closing costs where they can be negotiated, the cash required at the table is often a fraction of what buyers assume when they first sit down with us.

We are not going to promise you a specific number here. Your income, credit, household size, loan product, and the property itself all move it. But the honest version is this: buyers who assume they need $100,000 saved are usually wrong by a wide margin.

What every program asks of you

The programs differ in the details, but they share a common set of requirements:

1. Homebuyer education. A certified course is required. Some are free, most run a few hours, and you can usually complete them online. Start this early; it is the step buyers most often leave until it holds up their closing.
2. Credit. There are minimum scores, and they vary by loan product. A middling score does not disqualify you, but it changes which programs are open to you.
3. Income limits. Set by program, by household size, and by location, as described above.
4. Primary residence. These are owner-occupant programs. A 2 to 4 family qualifies when you live in one of the units.
5. First-time buyer status. Usually defined as not having owned a home in the past three years, which means some repeat buyers requalify.

Frequently asked questions

Do I have to be a first-time buyer to use these programs?

For most of the assistance programs, yes, but the definition is more generous than it sounds. Not having owned a home in the previous three years typically qualifies you, so buyers who sold years ago and have been renting since are often eligible again.

Can I use down payment assistance on a multi-family property?

Yes. MassHousing assistance can be used on a 2, 3, or 4 family property when you occupy one of the units, and New Hampshire's Home Preferred program allows multi-family with 5% down. This is one of the more effective paths to ownership in Lawrence, Haverhill, and Lowell, where two and three family homes are a large share of the housing stock.

Does down payment assistance have to be repaid?

It depends on the program and the structure. New Hampshire's assistance is a 0% interest second mortgage with no monthly payment, repaid when you sell, refinance, or stop occupying the home. Massachusetts terms vary by product and by the offer in effect when you lock. Ask for the specific repayment terms in writing before you commit.

Will using assistance make my offer less competitive?

It can, if it is presented poorly. In a market where homes here are closing at or slightly above asking in about three weeks, listing agents pay attention to how solid an offer looks. A strong pre-approval, a clean timeline, and an agent who can explain your financing to the other side matter more than the down payment percentage itself.

Should I wait and save a larger down payment?

That is a math question, not a discipline question. Waiting means saving against a moving target while paying rent. It is worth running both scenarios with real numbers for the town you want before deciding. We do this with buyers regularly, and the answer genuinely goes both ways.

Start with eligibility, not a mortgage application

The most common mistake we see is buyers self-disqualifying. They hear a number, assume they earn too much or have saved too little, and never check. The Gateway City distinction alone means that assumption is wrong often enough to be worth ten minutes of your time.

Our first-time buyer checklist walks through the sequence in order, and it is free to download. If you would rather just talk it through, we will walk you through eligibility for every program you might qualify for, in English or Spanish, before you spend a dollar on an application. Book a free consultation, or read more about how we work with buyers.