Washington first-time home buyer programs: grants and loans

Washington's main first-time buyer program comes from the Washington State Housing Finance Commission, the state housing agency, through its Home Advantage and House Key Opportunity loans. Trained lenders make the loans. Each pairs with a deferred down payment loan, which you repay later, and you need a free homebuyer class.

Cities and housing coalitions add their own programs. Figures below are dated where the source gives a date. For the national basics, read our guide to first-time home buyer programs.

How do Home Advantage and House Key Opportunity differ?

You work with a Commission-trained loan officer. For Home Advantage, the Commission says your lender qualifies you on a typical 30-year mortgage using its interest rate.

A first-time buyer here means someone who has not owned a home in the last three years. Target areas are census tracts that meet federal guidelines as economically distressed.

The Commission also offers special rates under House Key. They are for buyers earning up to 65 percent of area median income who buy through an approved Habitat for Humanity affiliate or a community land trust. Area median income is the middle income in an area: half of households earn more and half earn less.

What down payment help is there?

The Commission describes its down payment assistance (DPA) loans as payment-deferred, with no monthly payment. The balance is due when you sell, refinance or transfer the home, stop living in it, or pay off the mortgage. To refinance means to replace your mortgage with a new one. Each must be paired with a first mortgage, which is your main home loan. The Home Advantage DPA options go with Home Advantage, and the House Key Opportunity DPA goes with House Key. These are its main options.

Simple interest means you pay interest only on the amount you borrowed, not on interest that was already added.

The Commission points buyers of homes over $250,000 to Home Advantage DPA and buyers of homes under $250,000 to the Needs-Based option. Needs-Based and House Key DPA require a needs assessment, except for military veterans. The Needs-Based page gives two sets of income limits, so confirm yours with a lender.

The Commission also lists Covenant Homeownership help, for people with pre-1968 roots in Washington who belong to certain groups affected by housing discrimination, plus Home Choice and veterans options.

What are the House Key income and price limits?

The Commission's table took effect September 15, 2025. In target areas, limits may be higher outside King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Figures are yearly household income, outside target areas.

The House Key DPA has its own, lower limits, effective June 8, 2026: $93,350 for one or two people in King and Snohomish counties, and $67,450 in all other counties not listed. See what area median income means.

What do Seattle and East King County add?

Seattle. The city's Office of Housing says it provides down payment assistance through nonprofit partners for buyers at or below 80 percent of area median income, using Housing Levy funds. The city's page says HomeSight borrowers may access up to $70,000. Applicants must generally be first-time buyers or have owned no home in the last three years, with an exception for displaced homemakers. The Seattle Downpayment Assistance Program is no longer offered through the Commission.

A Regional Coalition for Housing (ARCH). ARCH runs a program for below-market homes in Redmond, Kirkland, Bellevue, Issaquah and other East King County cities. Each home has a resale covenant, which is a rule attached to the home that keeps it owner-occupied and affordable. To get on the list for a new home, you must meet a limit for the home and own no other home. You must also finance with a lender and complete a homebuyer class. ARCH counts 10 percent of liquid assets above $75,000 toward income, unless you use them to buy the home. Liquid assets are savings and other money you can get at once. For new homes it scores applicants and runs a lottery, a random drawing.

What affordable homes for sale does Washington have right now?

As of October 7, 2026, we track 21 open Washington listings, and 19 are homes for sale. All 19 are ARCH homes in East King County. The other two are Tacoma Housing Authority waitlists, lists of names kept for openings. See the Washington page, the Seattle area page and all listings.

ARCH resale homes in Issaquah, Bellevue, Redmond and Duvall are priced from $275,000 to $815,000 where a price is shown. Most are limited to households at 80 percent to 120 percent of the area median.

New ARCH homes, Fall 2026, are in Redmond (Willows124), Kirkland (Camden Terrace) and Kenmore (Hiatt Springs). For Willows124, ARCH's page says it must receive an interest form, a mortgage pre-approval letter and a homebuyer education certificate by October 19, 2026 at 3 PM. A pre-approval letter is a lender's letter saying how much it would loan you. A lottery follows among the highest-scoring households.

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 program websites above, and use a counselor from the housing counselor search.

How do you apply, step by step?

1. Take a free homebuyer education class from the Commission's list.
2. Find a Commission-trained loan officer and ask which first mortgage and which down payment option fit.
3. Compare local help such as Seattle's partners or ARCH.
4. Check federal options. FHA loans, insured by the Federal Housing Administration, let you put down as little as 3.5 percent, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) on its FHA loans page. See our FHA loan requirements.
5. Try our qualify check against the listings we track. What you type stays in your browser. See how to qualify for affordable housing.