Help for first-time buyers in New York

HPD HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance (New York City)

The city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development offers a forgivable loan of up to $100,000 towards the down payment or closing costs on a home in the five boroughs. You must stay in the home: 10 years if the loan is $40,000 or less, 15 years if it is more, and 15 years for any city-funded loan (NYC HPD).

Who qualifies. You must be a first-time buyer with household income up to 120% of area median income, complete a homebuyer education course with an HPD-approved counselling agency, and have savings of your own to put towards the purchase. The home can be a one- to four-family house, a condo or a co-op, for you to live in, and it must pass an inspection before you buy (NYC HPD).

Income limits (effective 1 June 2026): $142,560 for one person, $162,840 for two, $183,240 for three and $203,520 for four, rising to $268,680 for eight (NYC HPD).

Purchase price limits for existing homes (effective 1 December 2025); new or rehabilitated homes have separate limits on HPD's page:

To apply, start with an HPD-approved counselling agency in your borough, which runs the course and helps with the application; then get pre-approved by a participating lender (NYC HPD).

SONYMA mortgages for first-time buyers (New York State)

The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) offers 30-year fixed-rate mortgages through participating lenders. Both programmes below require you to be a first-time buyer as SONYMA defines it, except for eligible military veterans and buyers in federally designated target areas (NYS HCR; NYS HCR).

Achieving the Dream is for lower-income buyers, at what SONYMA calls a very low fixed rate. The minimum cash you put in is 1% of the property's value, or 3% for three- and four-family homes and co-ops. It covers one- to four-family homes, condos, co-ops and manufactured homes (NYS HCR). In New York City the income limits are $162,810 for a household of one or two and $189,950 for three or more (for reservations from 6 July 2026) (NYS HCR).

The Low Interest Rate Program is for low- and moderate-income buyers, at a competitive fixed rate, with a minimum contribution of 1% of the value. It covers single-family homes, including condos and co-ops, and existing two-family homes at least five years old (NYS HCR). In New York City the income limits are $203,520 for one or two people and $237,440 for three or more (for reservations from 6 July 2026) (NYS HCR).

Price limits. For both programmes, the purchase price limit in the five boroughs for a one-family home, including a condo or co-op, outside a target area is $1,306,970, and $1,673,440 for a two-family home (for reservations from 6 July 2026; higher in target areas) (NYS HCR; NYS HCR).

SONYMA down payment assistance

Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL). Added to a SONYMA mortgage, it provides the higher of $3,000 or 3% of the price, with the 3% capped at $15,000, and no more than your actual down payment and closing costs. It charges no interest and needs no monthly payments, and is forgiven after 10 years; if you sell or refinance sooner, part of it may be repayable, falling by 1/120 for each month you have lived there. The catch: the rate on a SONYMA first mortgage with a DPAL attached is 0.40% higher than without (NYS HCR).

DPAL Plus 2026 is a larger, limited version (term sheet revised June 2026, with $7.5 million available in total). It provides up to $30,000 towards the down payment and closing costs, for households with income up to 60% of area median income, on homes priced up to $500,000; in New York City the income limits are $122,110 for one or two people and $142,460 for three or more. It is also interest-free, forgiven over 10 years, adds 0.40% to the first mortgage's rate, and requires homebuyer education before loan approval (SONYMA DPAL Plus 2026 term sheet).

DPAL Plus is applied after any other subsidy and can sit alongside other approved second loans, such as from government agencies (SONYMA). Whether HomeFirst and a SONYMA loan can be used together on your purchase is for the participating lender and your counselling agency to confirm.

In the Hamptons: the Peconic Bay first-time buyer exemption

On the East End, first-time buyers of a primary residence can be fully exempt from the Peconic Bay tax in Southampton, East Hampton, Shelter Island and Southold (not Riverhead). Every buyer must be a first-time buyer, and the price and household income must be within limits tied to SONYMA's figures for Suffolk County on the contract date: for the price, 150% of SONYMA's non-target one-family limit (60% in Southold) (Tax Law §1449-ee(4)). SONYMA's current Suffolk figure is $1,306,970 (for reservations from 6 July 2026) (NYS HCR), so by our arithmetic the price limit is about $1,960,000 in the three Hamptons towns; confirm with the town. You must apply to the town and be approved (§1449-ee(5)); in Southampton the application comes from the Community Preservation Office (Town of Southampton). Our Hamptons buying guide covers the tax itself.

No first-time buyer break on the mansion tax

The state's mansion tax, 1% of the price at $1 million or more (more in New York City from $2 million), has no exemption for first-time buyers (Tax Law §1402-a; NYS Department of Taxation and Finance). In practice, HomeFirst's price limits for a one-family home are below $1 million, so a HomeFirst buyer of a single home won't usually reach it; a buyer of a larger multi-family home, or a SONYMA buyer near that programme's limit, may.

Using our calculators with assistance

We don't have a separate assistance calculator; enter the help as cash.

• In the affordability calculator, add the assistance you expect to "Cash available to buy". If it comes with a SONYMA DPAL, add 0.40% to the mortgage rate you enter.
• In the closing-cost calculator, the total is the cash needed to close; subtract the assistance from it to see what you need from your own savings. HomeFirst and SONYMA both still expect some of your own money in the purchase.
• Before you make an offer, check the price against the programme's limit for the right property type, borough and date, and your household income against its limit for your household size.

For the steps from offer to closing, see our buying timeline.