Philadelphia first time home buyer programs and homes for sale

Philadelphia first time home buyer programs center on Turn the Key, which sells new homes on city-owned land. Up to $75,000 of the price is a loan you make no payments on, and a city grant of up to $10,000 helps with closing costs. Your household must earn at or under $122,700 for four people in 2026.

What is Turn the Key?

Turn the Key is the city's program for first-time buyers. Private builders put up new houses on empty lots the city owns, and the Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC), the city's housing agency, runs the program and checks who qualifies.

The first kind of money is a loan of up to $75,000 that you make no monthly payments on. PHDC calls it a mortgage buydown or a soft loan. In the example in PHDC's FAQ, a $280,000 home comes with a $75,000 soft loan. You take out a regular mortgage for the other $205,000 and make monthly payments only on that.

The second is a Philly First Home grant of up to $10,000, which goes toward your closing costs, the fees you pay when you buy a home.

Your monthly payment depends on your credit, your interest rate and how much you put down. Pick your neighborhoods on PHDC's Turn the Key page; each one has a brochure with the home addresses.

Who qualifies for Turn the Key?

You qualify if you meet three tests on the program page:

• You are a first-time buyer: you have never owned a home, or haven't owned one in the three years before you apply.
• You finish one-on-one homeownership counseling approved by PHDC before you sign an agreement of sale, the contract to buy the home.
• Your household's yearly income before taxes is at or under the program's limit for your household size.

PHDC sets the limit at 100% of the area median income, the middle income in the area: half of households earn more and half earn less. The dollar limit rises with each extra person in your household. PHDC counts the income of everyone who will live in the home, using the pay before taxes in box 1 of each person's W-2, the yearly pay form employers send. These are its 2026 limits, based on the federal figures that took effect May 1, 2026:

Some neighborhoods set a lower limit, so read the brochure for the neighborhood you want.

Example. A household of two earns $95,000 a year before taxes. The Turn the Key limit for two people is $98,200, so the household is under it and can apply.

How do you apply for Turn the Key?

1. Book housing counseling. PHDC and other city-funded agencies give it for free; the city's counseling page has a map of agencies near you. You must finish it before you sign to buy.
2. Fill in the interest form on PHDC's Turn the Key page and pick the neighborhoods you want. The form doesn't promise you a home or put you on a waitlist, a line of buyers served in order.
3. Wait for a PHDC housing counselor to contact you when your first-choice neighborhood has homes ready. Then get your income certified, which means PHDC checks your pay papers and confirms you are under the limit. Send copies of a photo ID for every household member 18 or older, two months of pay stubs for every job and two years of tax returns.
4. Get approved for a mortgage by a lender on PHDC's list of Turn the Key lenders. PHDC says your credit score should be around 640.
5. Tour homes. PHDC sends your details to the builders in the neighborhoods you picked, and their sales teams contact you.

Save about $3,000 to $5,000 for your down payment, closing costs and other costs such as a home inspection. There is no lottery, no random drawing of names: builders contact buyers who have finished counseling, income certification and mortgage approval.

What rules come with a Turn the Key home?

The soft loan runs for 20 years: PHDC's FAQ says that after year 20 it counts as paid off. The home must be your main home for as long as its deed restriction, a rule recorded with the property, lasts. You can't buy it as an investment or rent it out. You may refinance, which means replacing your mortgage with a new one, to lower your payment or pay for repairs, and that doesn't restart the 20 years.

If you sell early, contact the Philadelphia Land Bank, the city office that controls the resale price. It works out a new price that keeps the home affordable for the next buyer. That buyer must also meet the income limits, the most a household can earn and still buy. After year 20, you can sell the home for its full value.

Before you buy, ask your counselor: if I sell before year 20, what do I owe on the $75,000?

PHDC says the homes aren't built to the access standards of the Americans with Disabilities Act, but you can change your home to fit your needs.

What is the Philly First Home grant?

Philly First Home is a city grant of up to $10,000, or 6% of the price if that is less, toward your down payment, closing costs or loan amount. You can use it on any single-family house or duplex in Philadelphia, not only a Turn the Key home, but not on a condo.

To get the grant, you must be a first-time buyer and earn at or under the same 2026 limits as Turn the Key. You must also finish one-on-one counseling with a city-funded agency before you sign to buy. If you plan to use more than one grant, ask your counselor: can I combine these grants with Philly First Home?

What other first-time buyer help is there?

The Pennsylvania Housing Finance Agency, the state's housing lender, offers mortgages and down payment help for first-time buyers through approved lenders across the state. You may be able to use its help along with the city's, so ask your housing counselor: which state and city programs can I combine? Before you ask, compare the Pennsylvania first-time home buyer programs.

What should you do next?

Book free housing counseling first, because both programs require it before you sign an agreement of sale. City-funded counseling is free, so never pay anyone for it. Then fill in the Turn the Key interest form and choose a lender from PHDC's list.

See the Philadelphia homes you can apply for now, with their prices and income limits, and use our qualify check to see which listings fit your household. You can also search homes for sale across Pennsylvania. Before your first counseling session, read what the homebuyer class covers so you know what to bring.