Fraud Alert: If you have seen an announcement that the Agency is offering Section 8 Housing Vouchers, please be advised that the Agency does not distribute these vouchers and these claims are fraudulent. 

More North Carolinians Now Eligible for Affordable Mortgages and $15K Down Payment Assistance

Valerie Sciacca
A piggy bank with change and a little house on a desk

RALEIGH—Housing prices are rising nationwide, and North Carolina is no exception. With the median home price having increased 4.8% in just the past year, many home buyers have been priced out of the market. The NC Housing Finance Agency is helping make home buying more attainable by increasing its income and sales price limits for its suite of affordable mortgage products. Thanks to these changes, eligible first-time and move-up home buyers making up to $140,000 may now benefit from the NC Home Advantage Mortgage™ with up to 3% down payment assistance. 

Income limits also increased for the Agency’s products for eligible first-time buyers and military veterans: the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment, which offers $15,000 in down payment assistance, and the NC Home Advantage Tax Credit, which can save buyers up to $2,000 in federal taxes each year. Income limits for these two products vary depending on county and family size. The NC Home Advantage Mortgage™ does not have sales price limits but follows industry guidelines. 

“Our goal is to help more North Carolinians across the state become homeowners through our NC Home Advantage suite of mortgage products,” said Scott Farmer, executive director of the NC Housing Finance Agency. “Raising our income and sales price limits will do just that by widening the market of citizens we can help, even as home prices continue to rise.”

The NC Home Advantage suite of mortgage products is available through a statewide network of participating lenders and can be used to purchase single-family homes, townhomes, condominiums, duplexes and new manufactured homes. To be eligible, buyers must:

  • Purchase a home in North Carolina.
  • Occupy and retain the home as a primary residence.
  • Have an income not exceeding $140,000 (income limits for the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment and NC Home Advantage Tax Credit vary by county and family size).
  • Have credit scores of 640 or higher.
  • Be applying for an FHA, USDA, VA or conventional loan through a participating lender.
  • Meet the sales price limit of the loan type or program.
  • Be a legal resident of the United States.
  • Be a first-time buyer or military veteran if applying for the NC 1st Home Advantage Down Payment or NC Home Advantage Tax Credit.

The NC Housing Finance Agency helped 5,430 North Carolinians purchase affordable homes in 2023 and generated $17.6 million in state and local tax revenue from investments in newly constructed affordable homes. 

Consumers should visit www.NCHomeAdvantage.com to learn more and find a local participating lender. 

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting public agency that provides safe, affordable housing opportunities to enhance the quality of life of North Carolinians. Since its creation by the General Assembly, the Agency has financed more than 310,700 affordable homes and apartments, totaling $31.9 billion. To learn more about the Agency and its programs, visit www.HousingBuildsNC.com. 

Press &
Investors

North Carolina Housing Finance Agency / 3508 Bush Street / Raleigh, NC 27609 / 919-877-5700

Disclaimer (please scroll and read, then proceed below)

All information contained on the following Web pages is obtained from the Agency’s books and records, and is believed to be accurate and reliable. Reference should be made to the official statement and operative documents of each series of bonds referred to herein for complete information on that issue. Because of the possibility of human and mechanical error as well as other factors, this information is provided "as is" without warranty of any kind and no representation or warranty, expressed or implied, is made, nor should any be inferred, as to the accuracy, timeliness, or completeness of this information. Under no circumstances shall North Carolina Housing Finance Agency have any liability to any person or entity for (a) any loss or damage in whole or part caused by, resulting from, or relating to any error (on account of neglect or otherwise) or other circumstance involved in procuring, collecting, compiling, interpreting, analyzing, editing, transcribing, transmitting, communicating or delivering this information, or (b) any direct, indirect, special, consequential, or incidental damages whatsoever, even if North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is advised in advance of the possibility of such damages, resulting from the use of, or inability to use, any such information. This information relates to bond issues of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency that have been sold and distributed in underwritten public offerings described in the related official statements. Each viewer of the aforementioned information acknowledges that (i) the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is not now by this document offering any bonds or other securities, nor soliciting an offer to buy any securities, (ii) this information is not to be construed as any description of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency-such offerings are only made pursuant to the appropriate official statements of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency, (iii) the information provided speaks only as of the date thereof and the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency has not in any way undertaken to update such information, and (iv) no representation is made as to the propriety or legality of any secondary market trading of the bonds or other securities of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency by anyone in any jurisdiction. The financial condition of the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency may have changed since the date this information was prepared.

© NCHFA 2023. All rights reserved. View Our Privacy Policy and Our Terms and Conditions.