N.C. Housing Finance Agency Raises Sales Price Limits for Low-Interest Mortgage Program; Increases Downpayment Assistance

Press Contact Only:
Margaret Matrone, NCHFA, 919-877-5606,
Connie Helmlinger, NCHFA, 919-877-5607,

Purchasing power has increased for first-time homebuyers in North Carolina.  

The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency’s board of directors raised sales price limits for the agency’s low-interest mortgage program and increased the amount of downpayment assistance to better align the agency’s programs with market demands.

The sales price limits were increased in most counties, standardizing the limits across the state. First-time homebuyers may now purchase new homes up to $165,000 and existing homes up to $150,000 and still qualify for the agency’s low-interest rate mortgage program. Under this program, the agency offers first-time homebuyers 30-year, fixed-rate FHA, VA, USDA, or conventional mortgages at below-market interest rates.

“As the cost of housing continues to rise in the state, people who qualify for our loans will now find it easier to locate housing in their communities that qualifies,” said Lucius S. Jones, chairman of the agency’s board of directors. “Raising the sales price limits provides more housing opportunities for North Carolina families.”

The agency board of directors also raised the agency’s downpayment assistance from $5,000 to $7,000. Downpayment assistance is offered in the form of a zero-interest second mortgage loan. Buyers must invest $750 from their own funds in their home, and the second mortgage pays up to $7,000 of the balance. Loans are repayable upon resale or refinance. To qualify for downpayment assistance, buyers must meet income limits lower than those for the low-interest mortgage program and have a sales price limit of $150,000 for new or existing homes.

The agency’s mortgages include a Job Loss Feature to help homeowners keep their homes. If eligible homeowners become unemployed in the first two years, the agency will make principal and interest payments on their behalf for up to four months. The homeowner repays the funds at the end of the mortgage term at no interest.

A complete description of all of the agency’s homebuyer programs is available at www.nchfa.com or citizens may call the N.C. Housing Finance Agency, 800-393-0988, to speak with a homeownership underwriter. The first-time homebuyer mortgages are available statewide through nearly 700 lenders and their branches.

The N. C. Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting public agency.  Nearly 65,000 families and individuals have used its mortgages, which are financed by the sale of tax-exempt bonds.

Household Income & Sales Price Limits for Low-Interest Mortgages
from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency

*MSA is an abbreviation for Metropolitan Statistical Area

 
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