MassHousing expands down payment aid eligibility for Waltham residents

Affordable housing agency MassHousing has extended its down payment assistance program to more new homebuyers across the state.

The program, which provides long-term loans to finance first-time homebuyers’ down payments, was previously accessible only to people making less than 80% of the area median income or to people making more than 80% of the AMI who were buying a new home in Boston, Randolph and Massachusetts’ gateway cities. 

The extended program is now open to households across the state making up to 135% of the AMI. First-time homebuyers in Waltham earning up to $205,355 a year will be eligible for a loan of up to $25,000 in down payment relief from MassHousing at a 3% interest rate.

MassHousing also offers more favorable loans to first-time homebuyers at lower-income brackets: at 80% of AMI, its interest rates drop to 2%, and at 60% AMI or lower, homebuyers are eligible for up to $30,000 of assistance with no interest.

This expansion is a reaction to “current economic conditions and a competitive marketplace” and isn’t a part of any larger policy change from MassHousing, Tom Farmer, a MassHousing communications specialist, said in a statement to The Waltham Times. 

Although the organization doesn’t anticipate expanding the program any further in the near future, it will continue to monitor the needs of the housing market.

What does this mean for Waltham?

Kelly Espinola, a Boston area real estate agent, estimated that 40% of her clients have used the state’s down payment assistance program and said it has helped her “make miracles and dreams happen.” 

Because she mostly uses the program for clients for houses costing up to $800,000, she said she has used it less frequently in Waltham, where the median purchase cost of a single-family home is just below that cutoff. The median purchase cost for a single-family home in Waltham was around $785,000 in 2024.

“I think [the MassHousing program] can make or break a deal if someone doesn’t have the down payment that’s needed,” said Waltham real estate agent Hans Brings. He said many first-time homebuyers who can afford a mortgage still struggle to put together their down payment. 

Brings added that MassHousing’s down payment assistant program can help homebuyers avoid paying for private mortgage insurance, which many mortgage providers in Massachusetts require if homebuyers can’t offer a sufficient down payment.

Mark Simone, a sales manager and residential loan officer at East Cambridge Savings Bank, applauded the eligibility increase as a “welcome change.”

“[It’s now] the most flexible program with respect to income cap,” Simone said. “We haven’t had a challenge meeting that eligibility for the MassHousing finance agency, but for some [other programs] that have lower income limits, that often is a challenge.”

However, Espinola said in light of the rising cost of necessities and the debt carried by many households, this expansion doesn’t go far enough. “Our dollar isn’t taking us as far as it was because of the massive inflation we’re dealing with right now,” she said. “I love that [MassHousing] raised the income limits, but I think they need to raise them more.”

According to Brings, the program’s biggest flaw is that it suffers from insufficient advertising, as it should be more well-known among buyers, real estate agents and especially lenders. “It’s something that I wish [MassHousing] put more money into,” he said. “It’s important to know what kind of assistance you have available when you’re looking to buy a home.”

Other financing aid

• MassHousing encourages first-time homebuyers to take a home ownership class run by an approved organization to better understand the process and the funding options available to them.
• Waltham nonprofit Watch CDC, one of the approved organizations, is running its next set of classes in the last week of July. 
• Other organizations, such as the Massachusetts Affordable Homeownership Alliance, have also run homebuyers’ classes in Waltham in the past.
• Watch CDC also offers a variety of other housing services through its housing clinic. Low-income residents who are having difficulty with housing can fill in an intake form to get matched with one of the organization’s case managers, who can help connect them to housing resources.
• Lenders can pair the down payment assistance program with other resources available to Waltham homebuyers, including the Massachusetts Housing Partnership’s fixed-rate One Mortgage loans. Simone looks for grants for clients from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston and recommends affordability programs such as Freddie Mac’s Home Possible.
• Waltham does not currently offer independent down payment assistance, unlike some towns including Somerville. According to Colette Casey-Brenner, Waltham’s housing and community development director, this is because its housing assistance is mostly funded through federal programs, which have generally been targeted toward supporting renters. However, Waltham offers a residential tax exemption on existing residences that reduces the assessed value of a taxpayer’s principal residence by $301,987 for tax purposes as of fiscal 2025.