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

Hale Kamaʻāina: what the revived Hula Mae loan gives you

Hale Kamaʻāina is the old Hula Mae Single Family Mortgage Program under a new name. HHFDC reopened it in December 2025 to sell tax-exempt mortgage revenue bonds ⁠². The first mortgage is a 30-year fixed loan, and HHFDC targets a rate at least 50 basis points below market. The real spread depends on the bond rate when the bonds are sold ⁠². Eligible loan types are FHA, VA, USDA-RD, Fannie Mae HFA Preferred and Freddie Mac HFA Advantage ⁠⁵.

On Oct. 20, 2026, the administrator’s rate page listed 5.620% for government loans and 5.870% for conventional loans ⁠⁵. HHFDC’s own program page showed 6.67% and 6.92% on the same day ⁠¹. The rate that counts is the one your lender locks in the eHousingPlus portal. HHFDC also gave a one-time First-Round Homebuyer Incentive of up to $3,000 to the first 35 buyers to close. That money was fully used on June 23, 2026 ⁠⁴.

Lender fees are capped. The first-mortgage origination fee can be at most 1% of the loan, and discount points are not allowed. There is a $350 compliance fee. A rate lock may be extended once, by no more than 30 days ⁠⁴.

Why the 4% down payment loan is on hold

Under the July 21, 2026 guidelines, the assistance was a second mortgage equal to 4% of the total loan amount. It carried 1% simple interest, with no monthly payments for 30 years ⁠⁴. It became due at the end of the first mortgage. It also became due if you refinanced or paid off the first mortgage, moved out, sold or transferred the home, or defaulted. HHFDC does not subordinate the second lien when you refinance or add a home equity line ⁠⁴.

To get it, you had to put in at least 5% of the price yourself. You also could not own other homes in Hawaii or have had an HHFDC down payment loan before ⁠⁴. On a $500,000 loan, that would be a $20,000 second loan. After 30 years of 1% simple interest, it would cost $6,000 in interest.

Act 214, Session Laws of Hawaii 2026 (H.B. 2270), rewrote the state’s downpayment loan law. It raised the maximum to 15% of the price or appraised value, capped at $60,000, and lets HHFDC set the interest rate. HHFDC may now waive payments, forgive interest and let private lenders originate these loans. The loan can also cover closing costs, prepaids and reserves. The buyer’s own required share falls from 5% to 3% of the price, and the downpayment loan can count toward it ⁠⁷.

HHFDC’s FAQ, updated Sept. 4, 2026, says its administrative rules must change before it can use these new terms. New second-mortgage terms will be posted once that happens ⁠². The administrator’s rate page now lists 0% assistance ⁠⁵. For now, budget for a Hale Kamaʻāina first mortgage with no state down payment help.

Income and price limits by county, including targeted tracts

Income limits depend on household size: one figure covers 1-2 people and another covers 3 or more. Limits are higher in federally designated targeted census tracts. In those tracts, the first-time buyer rule also does not apply, and it does not apply to veterans either ⁠²⁠³.

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Source: HHFDC ⁠³. Guidelines list the targeted tracts. There are 19 on Oʻahu, including parts of Kakaʻako-Downtown, Kalihi-Pālama, Salt Lake, Waipahu and Wahiawā. There are three in Puna (Kalapana-Kapoho, Kīlauea-Pāhoa, Pāhoa-Makai) and one in West Molokaʻi ⁠⁴.

To check an address, look up its census tract and compare it with the tract list in the administrator’s guidelines. Your lender then reserves funds at the targeted-area rate ⁠⁴. Conventional HFA loans also have a lower income cutoff for reduced mortgage insurance: $83,250 in Hawaiʻi County, $106,720 in Honolulu, $96,080 on Kauaʻi and $97,120 in Maui and Kalawao ⁠⁴.

Credit, debt and occupancy rules HHFDC enforces

• Credit score. The minimum FICO score is 660 for every loan type ⁠⁴⁠⁵.
• Debt-to-income. Your total debt payments can be at most 45% of income. The loan needs automated underwriting approval, and The Money Source (the master servicer) may approve manual underwriting. Combined loan-to-value can be up to 100% ⁠⁴.
• Residency and status. You must be at least 18, a U.S. citizen or resident alien, and a Hawaii resident for at least six months in a row before closing ⁠⁴.
• First-time buyer. Neither you nor your spouse can have owned or held any interest in a principal residence in the past three years ⁠³.
• Property. One-unit homes, townhomes, PUDs and condos qualify. Homes with an accessory dwelling unit do not. Leasehold homes need at least 35 years left on the lease and lease rent fixed for 10 years. You must move in within 60 days and live there for the life of the loan, and you cannot rent out any part of the home ⁠²⁠⁴.
• Recapture tax. Federal recapture tax can apply only if all three of these happen: you sell within nine years, you make a profit, and your income has risen above the program limit ⁠².

Homebuyer counseling and the 15 approved lenders

Every person on the title must finish homeownership counseling with a HUD-approved housing counseling agency. In April 2026, HHFDC removed its list of approved online course providers from the guidelines ⁠⁴. Kauaʻi County points buyers to the Hawaiʻi HomeOwnership Center and Hawaiian Community Assets for these classes ⁠¹⁴.

As of Aug. 6, 2026, HHFDC listed 15 participating lenders ⁠⁶:

• American Savings Bank
• Central Pacific Bank
• CMG Mortgage
• DHI Mortgage
• Fairway Independent Mortgage
• First Hawaiian Bank
• Guaranteed Rate
• Guild Mortgage
• LeaderOne Financial
• loanDepot
• Mason McDuffie Mortgage
• PrimeLending
• Primary Residential Mortgage
• SecurityNational Mortgage
• V.I.P. Mortgage

The lender reserves funds after your purchase offer is accepted. The loan must be bought by the master servicer within 60 days of the reservation ⁠⁵⁠¹⁵.

HHFDC no longer issues new Mortgage Credit Certificates. It only reissues existing certificates when a holder refinances through an MCC participating lender, for a $300 fee ⁠⁸. The HHFDC Equity Pilot (DURF DEP) applies only to designated starter units in certain projects. Buyers must work in a shortage profession such as health care, teaching, law enforcement or agriculture. It is a 0%, 30-year second mortgage, for example $103,300 per unit at Kuilei Place, where homes start at $523,400 ⁠⁹.

County money on Oʻahu, Maui and Kauaʻi

Honolulu’s Down Payment Loan Program is funded by the federal HOME program. It lends up to $40,000 at 0% with no loan fees. The loan is paid back over 20 years, at $166.67 a month on the full amount ⁠¹¹. You must put in 5% of the price yourself, and the city loan can only go toward the down payment ⁠¹⁰. After the 10-year affordability period, you can earn an Owner Occupancy Credit of up to $20,000. If you sell earlier, you repay the balance minus the credits you have earned ⁠¹⁰⁠¹¹. Applicants must not own a primary residence, must finish a city-approved homebuyer education course, and must live in the home for the life of the loan. Loans are made first come, first served while funds last ⁠¹¹.

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Maui County’s First-Time Home Buyer’s Down Payment Assistance Program pays the lesser of $30,000 or 5% of the price. It covers buyers at or below 140% of the county median income with no more than $75,000 in non-retirement assets. Applicants are chosen by lottery during application periods the Housing Division announces. Winners have 45 days to sign a purchase contract and 90 days to close. Maui calls this a grant, but it is secured by a permanent lien and must be repaid when you sell ⁠¹². We could not open the county’s site in October 2026 to confirm a 2026 application period.

Maui’s Hoʻokumu Hou First-Time Homebuyer Opportunity Program paid up to $600,000 in federal disaster-recovery grants. It served buyers up to 120% of AMI ($177,600 for four people) and gave priority to renters displaced by the 2023 wildfires. Homes bought with it must be resold at affordable prices for 99 years. Applications are closed ⁠¹³.

Kauaʻi County runs a Kauaʻi Resident Home-Buyer List and a Home Buyer Loan Program. The loan program is offered only when funding is available and uses Kauaʻi median income limits ⁠¹⁴. We found no current Hawaiʻi County down payment program on an official page.

Getting a Hale Kamaʻāina loan, from counseling to closing

1. Check the county limits

   Find your household’s line in the June 13, 2026 table. Look up the home’s census tract if you are near the income or price cap ⁠³⁠⁴.

2. Call a participating lender

   Pick one of the 15 lenders on HHFDC’s list. Ask the loan officer to prequalify you for Hale Kamaʻāina and, on Oʻahu, the city Down Payment Loan ⁠⁶⁠¹¹.

3. Finish HUD-approved counseling

   Everyone who will be on the title needs a certificate before closing ⁠⁴.

4. Gather documents

   Your lender sets the exact list, usually pay stubs, tax returns and bank statements. The file must show you meet the income limit and have lived in Hawaii for six months in a row ⁠³⁠⁴.

5. Make an offer

   Once your offer is accepted, the lender reserves the funds and locks your rate in the eHousingPlus portal ⁠¹⁵.

6. Sign the recapture notice and close

   You get the recapture tax notice before closing and again at closing. Keep it for any sale within nine years ⁠².

If one lender declines you, another participating lender can review your file. Questions go to HHFDC at (808) 587-0578 ⁠¹⁵. Other states’ programs are on the first-time homebuyer grants page, and more Hawaii guides are on the Hawaii page.