Philly Resumes Initial Payment Assistance Program For Home Buyers Buying Home

The city’s initial payments assistance program, Philly First Home, reopened today, according to an announcement from the Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD). The program provides assistance of up to $ 10,000 (or 6 percent of the purchase price, whichever is less) as assistance to first-time home buyers or those who have not owned a home for at least three years. The beneficiary must also:

– Buy a house in Philadelphia
– Have a family income at or below 100 percent of the region’s average income (AMI)
– Full housing counseling at a DHCD-funded housing counseling agency.

The Philly First Home program has been designed to help make home ownership more affordable. Program funds may be used for the down payment and / or closing costs.

The first iteration of the program was launched in 2019 and was very successful. More than $ 24 million in assistance was provided to new homeowners until the program closed in September 2020 after the funds ran out. The program provided 2,700 grants, and most participants were black (58 percent). About 26 percent (the second largest group of participants) were Hispanic. Fifty percent of the homes were purchased for less than $ 175,000, and the average grant amount was $ 8,983.

More information about the program is available here.

Interested future homeowners can contact DHCD-funded housing counseling agencies starting today. To learn more, please come here.