Michigan first-time home buyer programs: state and city help

Michigan's main first-time buyer program is run by the Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA), the state housing agency. Its MI Home Loan needs a 640 credit score and income and price under county limits. Its MI 10K Down Payment Assistance (DPA) loan gives up to $10,000, interest free, and needs a homebuyer class. Detroit adds its own grant.

Federal loans and local programs work alongside the state's. Figures below are dated where the source gives a date. For the national basics, read our guide to first-time home buyer programs.

How does MSHDA's MI Home Loan work?

MSHDA says to work directly with a participating lender, and these are the rules it lists.

• First-time buyer. You must not have owned a home in the previous three years. Repeat buyers qualify only in targeted areas, which are areas MSHDA marks as targeted in its limits table.
• Credit score. A minimum of 640.
• Class. MSHDA lists a housing education class under its down payment assistance line, and its MI 10K page requires the certificate. Ask your lender whether the class is required for the MI Home Loan alone. MSHDA has a locator for approved classes.
• Limits. Household income and sales price must fall under limits that depend on family size and where the home is.
• Price. The sales price limit is $566,355 statewide after June 1, 2026.

MSHDA also offers a federal tax credit for first-time buyers. See the section below.

What is the MI 10K Down Payment Assistance loan?

The MI 10K Down Payment Assistance loan gives up to $10,000 toward your down payment, closing costs (fees due when you buy) and prepaid expenses (bills such as insurance and taxes paid in advance), statewide. It must be paired with a MSHDA MI Home Loan, and everyone buying must have a homebuyer education certificate. It is an interest-free loan with no monthly payments. Repayment is deferred until events such as paying off the first mortgage, selling or refinancing the home, or no longer living in it. So it is help with cash, not a gift.

What are the 2026 income limits by county?

MSHDA's table took effect June 1, 2026. Limits depend on the county, on whether the home is in a targeted area (an area where repeat buyers can also qualify), and on whether your household has one or two people or three or more. All figures are yearly household income, and the price limit is $566,355 in every county.

Many counties have their own rows, so find yours in the full table. For how limits are set, see what area median income means. The mortgage credit certificate (MCC) program page still showed an older $544,233 price limit when we read it, but MSHDA's June 1, 2026 table lists $566,355 for both programs, so use the table.

What is the mortgage credit certificate?

MSHDA's mortgage credit certificate is a federal tax credit equal to 20% of the mortgage interest you pay each year. A tax credit cuts your tax bill dollar for dollar. It is for first-time buyers statewide and repeat buyers in targeted areas. It must be approved through an approved lender before you buy, and MSHDA says you can claim it every year for the life of the original mortgage, up to 30 years. MSHDA's March 20, 2026 public notice describes it as not refundable, so it only helps if you owe federal income tax. The notice also says a recapture tax, which takes back part of the benefit, may be due if you sell within nine years. Ask a lender how it would work for you.

What do city and nonprofit programs add?

Detroit. The City of Detroit's Down Payment Assistance program gives awards of up to $25,000 as a grant. You can use it toward the down payment, closing costs, prepaid costs, an interest-rate buy-down (money paid up front to lower your rate) and principal reduction (paying down the loan). To qualify you need:

• household income under 80% of the area median income, the middle income in the area (for example $58,700 for one person and $83,850 for four, on the city's page as of July 2026);
• a homebuyer course, a lender pre-qualification and a signed purchase agreement;
• no home owned in the past three years;
• 12 months of living in Detroit.

If you lost a Detroit home to property tax foreclosure between 2010 and 2016, you can qualify without meeting the last two rules. You must live in the home for three years or repay part of the grant. The city opened its third round on March 11, 2026 for up to 450 more buyers. Funds go first come, first served, so ask the city whether money remains.

Land trusts. In Grand Rapids, the Dwelling Place Community Land Trust sells homes where the land stays in the trust. It says buyers must have income between 60% and 120% of the area median, take a homebuyer program, qualify with an approved lender and attend an orientation. When you sell, you keep 25% of the equity (the home's value minus what you owe) plus your principal payments.

What affordable homes for sale do we track in Michigan?

As of October 5, 2026, we track three open Michigan listings. Two are homes for sale and one is a rental. See the Michigan page and all listings.

Both homes-for-sale listings are in Grand Rapids. Englewood Avenue Homes has six land trust homes in southeast Grand Rapids, and the Fuller Avenue duplexes are two new attached land trust homes. The trust says buyers need income between 60% and 120% of the area median. Our records add a "Becoming a Homeowner" course and mortgage pre-approval. The trust lists other communities on its available homes page.

The rental is the Detroit Housing Commission's waitlists for project-based vouchers, which are vouchers tied to one building, at several properties.

Which federal loans work in Michigan?

FHA loans, which the Federal Housing Administration insures, allow a down payment as low as 3.5% according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Our guides to FHA loan requirements and FHA vs conventional loans compare the options. MSHDA's MI 10K loan must be combined with a MI Home Loan.

How do you avoid grant scams?

The Federal Trade Commission says the government does not contact you out of the blue about grants, and no government agency will contact you to demand that you pay to get one. Start from the agency websites above, and use a counselor from the housing counselor search.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Take a homebuyer class from MSHDA's approved list.
2. Pick a participating lender and ask which first mortgage fits.
3. Compare local help such as Detroit's program, and ask whether funds remain.
4. Ask about the tax credit before you buy. It must be approved first.
5. Try our qualify check. It compares your household with the listings we track. What you type stays in your browser. See how to qualify for affordable housing.