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

Achieving the Dream or Low Interest Rate: which mortgage carries the assistance

Achieving the Dream is SONYMA’s lowest-rate program, for households under its lower income limits. The Low Interest Rate Program allows higher incomes and also finances manufactured homes ⁠⁴⁠¹⁰. Both are 30-year fixed loans with no points, financing up to 97%, and 120-day rate locks on existing homes. Both cover 1-4 family homes, condos and co-ops ⁠⁴⁠⁷. A 2-4 family home must be at least five years old unless it is in a Target Area ⁠⁴.

Adding any SONYMA assistance raises the first-mortgage rate by 0.40%. On Oct. 20, 2026, SONYMA’s rate page listed Achieving the Dream at 6.600% without assistance and 7.000% with it. The Low Interest Rate Program was 7.000% and 7.400% ⁠¹⁠⁷. The surcharge does not apply to Graduate to Homeownership, Homes for Veterans or ENERGY STAR loans ⁠¹. SONYMA also offers Conventional Plus and FHA Plus, which pair a 30-year fixed loan with SONYMA down payment assistance and are open to previous homeowners. Conventional Plus requires income below 80% of AMI, which you check with Fannie Mae’s HomeReady lookup tool ⁠¹⁰. SONYMA warns that its borrowers may owe a federal recapture tax when they sell ⁠⁴.

DPAL, DPAL PLUS 2026 and the Repayable Second Lien compared

SONYMA has three down payment add-ons. You choose one with your lender, and it always sits in second position behind the SONYMA first mortgage ⁠¹⁠²⁠³.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

None of the three may exceed your actual down payment and closing costs, and none allows cash back except in special circumstances ⁠¹⁠³.

DPAL PLUS 2026 is the deepest help. Its term sheet works an example: on a $100,000 home with $6,000 in closing costs, it pays $26,000. That covers the $6,000 in costs and a $20,000 down payment, which brings the first mortgage to 80% ⁠². Other grants are applied first, and DPAL PLUS fills the gap. SONYMA describes the cap as 60% of AMI. The county table attached to the term sheet lists $67,140 for 1-2 people in most upstate counties, $73,860 in the Capital Region and $122,110 in New York City and Westchester. For 3 or more people, the range is $77,210 to $142,460 ⁠². SONYMA says the program ends when the $7.5 million runs out ⁠¹⁠².

What you owe if you sell or refinance within 10 years

The DPAL and DPAL PLUS are forgiven in equal monthly installments over the first 120 months you live in the home. If you sell or refinance after four years, 72 of the 120 months (60% of the original amount) are still subject to repayment. If the sale proceeds are not enough to cover it, SONYMA forgives the shortfall ⁠¹⁠². The RSL is never forgiven. It has no monthly payment, you may pay it down at any time, and it is due in full when you sell, refinance or pay off the SONYMA first mortgage ⁠³. New York mortgage tax and recording fees apply to all of these second mortgages ⁠²⁠³.

2026 SONYMA income and purchase price limits by county

SONYMA’s limits are for reservations accepted from July 6, 2026. Income is counted for the whole household, including children, so a couple with one child uses the 3+ person column ⁠⁵⁠⁶. In upstate Target Areas the income limits are about 20% higher; downstate they are the same. Target Areas everywhere get a higher price cap: the 1-family limit rises from $566,350 to $692,210 upstate and from $1,306,970 to $1,597,410 downstate ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Columbia ($93,440 / $107,450 for ATD) and Ulster ($93,840 / $107,910) sit between the upstate base and Tompkins. For a co-op, the price test adds the unit’s share of the building’s underlying mortgage ⁠⁵.

To find your figure, open the Achieving the Dream or Low Interest Rate PDF and read your county’s row. Then run the address through SONYMA’s Target Area Locator, because a Target Area address uses the higher columns and waives the first-time rule ⁠⁴⁠⁵.

SONYMA’s credit, debt-ratio and education rules

Credit. SONYMA’s underwriting notes (revised January 2023) say it uses credit scores but sets no minimum score ⁠⁸. Approval still runs through its mortgage pool insurer. You need three credit lines open for 12 months, or the loan is manually underwritten using rent and utility history. Collections under $250 or more than three years old need not be paid off, but open collections can total no more than $1,000. A bankruptcy must be discharged at least three years before you apply ⁠⁸.

Debt ratios. The maximum is 40% of income for housing costs and 45% for total debt, whether the loan is approved by automated or manual underwriting ⁠⁸.

Education. A homebuyer course is required for Achieving the Dream, for any DPAL, and whenever you put in less than 5% of your own cash or borrow more than 95% ⁠⁸⁠⁴. For DPAL PLUS and the RSL, the course must be done before loan approval. SONYMA prefers a HUD-approved counseling agency but accepts a mortgage insurer’s online course ⁠²⁠³. Buyers of a 2-4 family home also need landlord counseling from a HUD-approved agency ⁠⁸.

New York City’s HomeFirst on top of a SONYMA loan

HPD’s HomeFirst Down Payment Assistance Program is the largest local program in the state. It lends the lesser of 20% of the price or $100,000 at 0% for 1-4 family homes, condos and co-ops in the five boroughs ⁠¹². It is forgiven after 10 years for loans up to $40,000 and after 15 years above that. Loans funded with City capital money always take 15 years ⁠¹¹⁠¹². If you sell after the sixth anniversary, the amount due falls by 20% a year (loans of $40,000 or less) or 10% a year (larger loans) ⁠¹².

Income can be at most 120% of AMI. The limits effective June 1, 2026 are $142,560 for one person, $183,240 for three, $203,520 for four and $268,680 for eight ⁠¹¹. An existing home must cost no more than 95% of HUD’s limit, which is $661,000 for a 1-unit home in the Bronx, Manhattan and Staten Island, $699,000 in Queens and $732,000 in Brooklyn ⁠¹¹. The term sheet requires 3% of the price from your own savings, at most half of the down payment as a gift, and household assets no higher than the income limit. It also sets a 620 FICO score (580 with an FHA lender’s approval), a 55% total debt ratio and a $1,650 servicing fee ⁠¹². Your mortgage must come from an HPD-approved HomeFirst lender. Mortgage brokers are not allowed, and you must close within 120 days of the loan approval notice ⁠¹². HPD’s page did not announce a funding pause on Oct. 20, 2026 ⁠¹¹.

SONYMA’s term sheets allow government second mortgages behind its own DPAL, so a buyer can stack HomeFirst on a SONYMA loan with a lender that is on both lists ⁠².

Long Island, Buffalo and Affordable Housing Corporation homes

• Suffolk County. The HOME Consortium program paid up to $30,000 toward the down payment as a 0% loan forgiven after 10 years. It covered buyers at or below 80% of AMI ($124,950 for four people in 2024), homes up to $551,000, and only seven towns: East Hampton, Huntington, Riverhead, Shelter Island, Smithtown, Southampton and Southold ⁠¹⁴. The county’s portal still posts only the 2024 guidelines, whose application deadline was April 1, 2025 ⁠¹⁴.
• East Buffalo DPAL+. This state program paid up to $30,000. Its funds ran out on Jan. 30, 2025, and SONYMA directs those buyers to the regular DPAL ⁠¹³.
• Affordable Housing Corporation. AHC gives grants of up to $75,000 per home to municipalities and nonprofits, which then sell new or renovated homes to households earning 100% to 166% of HUD’s low-income limits. Its 2026-2027 funding round opened July 16, 2026. You buy through a listed grantee, not from AHC ⁠¹⁵.

Getting a SONYMA loan with assistance, step by step

1. Check the limits

   Find your county on the July 6, 2026 Achieving the Dream or Low Interest Rate table, and run the address through the Target Area Locator ⁠⁵⁠⁶.

2. Take the homebuyer course early

   Use a HUD-approved counseling agency if you can. In New York City, HomeFirst requires a class from an HPD-approved agency, which also certifies your income ⁠²⁠¹¹.

3. Gather documents

   Lenders ask for recent pay stubs, your two latest bank statements, debt account details, landlord names and dates, three years of signed federal tax returns, and any divorce decree ⁠⁹.

4. Get pre-qualified by a participating lender

   Pick a loan officer from SONYMA’s list for your region, and confirm that the lender offers the DPAL or DPAL PLUS 2026 ⁠¹⁠⁹.

5. Sign a contract

   SONYMA will not let a lender register your loan without a fully signed contract. The good faith deposit is usually about $1,000 ⁠⁹.

6. Lock the rate and reserve the assistance

   The lender registers the loan with SONYMA and enters any DPAL PLUS or RSL as a subsidy in SONYMA Express. SONYMA and its pool insurer then review the file, which adds about a week to normal processing ⁠⁹⁠³.

7. Close and keep the second-mortgage papers

   You sign the DPAL enforcement note and recapture notice, or the RSL note ⁠²⁠³.

If a lender says you do not qualify yet, SONYMA suggests asking it how to improve your application; you can also try another participating lender ⁠⁹. Rules for other states are on the first-time homebuyer grants page, and other New York guides are on the New York page.