Alaska first-time homebuyer grants and down payment assistance (2026)

First Home Limited or First Home: which AHFC loan fits

Both loans require a first-time buyer, meaning no primary residence owned in the last three years ⁠¹. The difference is federal bond rules.

First Home Limited is funded with tax-exempt bonds. It has the lowest rate: 6.625% for 30 years and 6.250% for 15 years on Oct. 16, 2026 ⁠⁸. In return, household income and the home’s acquisition cost must be under AHFC’s area limits. The loan can trigger federal recapture tax if you sell, and you must read AHFC’s tax-exempt booklet. The three-year rule is waived for a home in a targeted census tract and for qualified veterans with a DD-214 and a Certificate of Eligibility, as long as they have not used First Home Limited or the Veterans Mortgage Program before ⁠¹. Eligible homes are single-family houses, condos, Common Interest Community units, Type I manufactured homes, and duplexes at least five years old. You also submit your most recent federal tax return ⁠¹.

First Home has no income limit, no acquisition cost limit and no recapture tax. On Oct. 16, 2026 it was 7.000% for 30 years and 6.500% for 15 years ⁠¹⁠⁸. It is meant for first-time buyers who earn too much for First Home Limited or want a pricier home.

For comparison, AHFC’s standard My Home loan, which has no first-time rule, was 7.250% that day ⁠⁸. Rates change every business day.

2026 First Home Limited limits by borough and census area

AHFC sets First Home Limited limits by area and by household size: 1-2 people or 3 or more. Income is gross monthly income times 12. The acquisition cost is the full price paid to the seller ⁠¹. The limits below took effect June 1, 2026 ⁠³⁠⁵.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Existing duplexes have higher caps, from $725,146 in most areas to $799,434 in Juneau ⁠⁵.

Targeted census tracts get higher limits. In Anchorage tracts 5.00, 6.01, 6.02, 9.01 and 11.00, the income limit is $162,120 for 1-2 people and $189,140 for 3 or more. Listed tracts in Bethel, Dillingham, Fairbanks North Star, Kenai, Kusilvak, Mat-Su (tract 1.01), Nome, Northwest Arctic, Southeast Fairbanks and Yukon-Koyukuk allow $144,360 and $168,420 ⁠⁴. Every targeted tract has a $692,211 price cap for a single-family home ⁠⁶. To find your tract, run a street address search in the Census geocoder that AHFC links from its First Home Limited page ⁠¹. Places not on a chart use “All Other Areas.”

Lowering the rate further with IRRLIB and the 97% LTV option

The Interest Rate Reduction for Low-Income Borrowers cuts the rate on any owner-occupied AHFC single-family loan. It takes 0.5% off at or below 80% of area income and 1% off at or below 60%, on the first $180,000 of the loan. A larger loan gets a blended rate ⁠⁷. Buyers must not have owned a primary residence in the last three years (some exceptions apply) and must not own other residential property within 50 miles ⁠⁷. Limits for 2026 include:

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Source: AHFC IRRLIB chart ⁠⁷. Other boroughs, such as Sitka and Kodiak, have their own rows.

AHFC’s 97% loan-to-value option lowers the minimum down payment to 3% on First Home Limited, First Home and other single-family loans. It adds 0.250% to the program rate ⁠⁸.

Home Opportunity Program money outside Anchorage

AHFC funds the Home Opportunity Program through nonprofit intermediaries. Alaska Community Development Corporation (ACDC) runs it everywhere in the state except the Municipality of Anchorage ⁠¹³. HOP pays for three things:

• the down payment, if the first-mortgage lender requires one;
• up to $3,000 in closing costs;
• if needed for affordability, a buy-down of the first mortgage.

The total cap is $30,000 per buyer, and the minimum is $1,250. It is a 0% loan secured by a note and deed of trust. The first $10,000 is forgiven over five years of owner occupancy. Any remainder is due when you sell or refinance ⁠¹³. Household income must be below 80% of HUD’s area median. ACDC’s chart, dated June 1, 2025, shows four-person limits of $91,900 in Fairbanks, $90,950 in Mat-Su, $89,300 in Kenai Peninsula Borough and $102,950 in Juneau ⁠¹³. The home must be your only home and your principal residence, and it must not be a luxury home. Pre-1978 homes need a lead-paint visual assessment. You cannot be behind on child support, and you must take a class from a HUD-approved counseling agency ⁠¹³. ACDC says funding is very limited and goes first come, first served. Applications are available at its Palmer office or through participating lenders, such as First National Bank Alaska, Denali State Bank, Guild Mortgage and USDA Rural Development ⁠¹³.

Anchorage buyers: no city program, but Cook Inlet Lending Center

HOP does not serve Anchorage ⁠¹³. The Municipality receives its own federal HOME allocation, $616,173 for 2026 ⁠². The Municipality’s 2026 Action Plan does not fund open-market down payment assistance. It sends HOME homebuyer money to a Habitat for Humanity Anchorage program. Those buyers get 0% non-forgivable loans for down payment and closing costs, due when they sell or move out ⁠².

AHFC’s AHELP list names partner agencies by region. In Anchorage they are Cook Inlet Lending Center and North Pacific Rim Housing Authority. ACDC serves Southcentral and Southeast, and Interior Regional Housing Authority serves Fairbanks. Ketchikan Indian Community and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority serve parts of Southeast ⁠¹². With AHELP, only one of two borrowers has to take a homebuyer class ⁠¹².

Cook Inlet Lending Center (CILC) is a Native community development lender. Its offers in October 2026 were:

• Down Payment Assistance Loan. Up to 20% of the price, with a $75,000 maximum, as a fully repayable 30-year fixed-rate second mortgage. It is open statewide if at least one borrower is Alaska Native, American Indian or Native Hawaiian. Other buyers qualify only in CDFI Fund-designated Native areas. It requires first-time buyer status, a 620 score, two months of reserves and income up to 150% of AMI: $180,450 for four people statewide or $202,650 in Anchorage (effective May 1, 2026). You must be pre-approved before you sign a purchase contract ⁠¹⁴.
• Grants. The NAHI Grant ($25,000, for Alaska Native and American Indian buyers) and the Home$tart Grant ($15,000, for first-time buyers) are grants you never repay. They require income below 80% of AMI ($96,250 for four statewide, $106,800 in Anchorage), five years of owner occupancy, a homebuyer class and a first mortgage in process with CILC ⁠¹⁵.

Credit, debt ratios and the HomeChoice class

Credit and residency. AHFC’s minimum credit score is 620. Borrowers must be physically present in Alaska and intend to stay ⁠⁹.

Debt-to-income. AHFC’s public pages do not publish a general DTI cap; ask your lender which ratio applies to your loan. For IRRLIB loans, the total obligation ratio can reach 50% with automated underwriting approval. Manually underwritten IRRLIB loans are held to 33/41 ⁠¹⁰.

Education. AHFC accepts its own HomeChoice: Steps to Homeownership course or education from NeighborWorks Alaska ⁠⁹. HomeChoice is free, online and self-paced, and takes about two hours. Its certificate is worth up to a $250 credit on any AHFC single-family loan. AHFC also offers the Finally Home! online course ⁠¹¹. HOP specifically requires a HUD-approved counseling agency, so confirm with ACDC that your course counts ⁠¹³.

From approved lender to closing: the Alaska sequence

1. Take HomeChoice first

   Email your first and last name to [email protected], finish the roughly two-hour course and keep the certificate for the $250 credit ⁠¹¹.

2. Pick an AHFC-approved lender

   Use AHFC’s Approved Lenders list (linked below), since AHFC does not lend directly. Ask the lender to compare First Home Limited, First Home, IRRLIB and the 97% LTV option ⁠¹⁠⁸.

3. Check your area’s limits

   Use the June 1, 2026 First Home Limited and IRRLIB charts. Check the Census geocoder to see whether your address is in a targeted tract ⁠³⁠⁴⁠⁷.

4. Line up down payment help early

   Outside Anchorage, call ACDC at 907-746-5680 ext. 2 about HOP funds. In Anchorage, or if you are Alaska Native, contact CILC at 907-793-3058 before you make an offer ⁠¹³⁠¹⁴.

5. Gather documents

   For First Home Limited, AHFC requires copies of your most recent federal tax return, and more years may be required. Veterans using the first-time exemption need a Certificate of Eligibility or Title 38 letter plus a DD-214 or Statement of Service ⁠¹.

6. Sign the purchase agreement and close

   Your lender underwrites the first mortgage and alone decides whether to approve it. HOP funds close as a separate note and deed of trust ⁠¹³.

7. If you are turned down, try again

   You can apply with another approved lender. If HOP funds have run out, ask ACDC when new HOME funds will be available ⁠¹³.

Other states’ programs are compared on the first-time homebuyer grants page, and other Alaska guides are on the Alaska page.