Rent and Housing
Philly First Home
Verified · October 23, 2026 Deadline soon — check dates
Philly First Home is a City of Philadelphia homebuyer assistance grant of up to $10,000 (or 6% of the home’s purchase price, whichever is lower) to help first-time homebuyers reduce the principal, cover down payment, and pay loan closing costs. Before buying, applicants must complete a free City-funded homeownership counseling program, which covers deeds and legal documents, avoiding dangerous mortgages, buying within a budget, credit, money management, home maintenance, and avoiding foreclosure. The property must be a single-family home or duplex located in Philadelphia; condominiums are not eligible.
- Organization
- City of Philadelphia / Philadelphia Housing Development Corporation (PHDC)
- Who qualifies
- First-time buyers, or buyers who have not owned a home in the past three years, who complete one-on-one homeownership counseling through a City-funded housing counseling agency before signing an Agreement of Sale, and who are income eligible. The home purchased must be a single-family home or duplex in Philadelphia (no condominiums).
- Income limits
- Maximum annual household income by family size (gross income for all members of the family who will live in the home): 1: $85,900; 2: $98,200; 3: $110,500; 4: $122,700; 5: $132,600; 6: $142,400; 7: $152,200; 8: $162,000.
- Documents needed
- The housing counseling agency will need: total annual family income, source of that income (employment, SSI, DPA, etc.), and number of family members who will live in the house.
- How to apply
- Contact a City-funded housing counseling agency (list linked from the PHDC program page via phila.gov) and complete one-on-one counseling before you sign an Agreement of Sale. The PHDC program page presents the grant in the present tense ('We are offering a homebuyer assistance grant of up to $10,000') with current income guidelines and an application-process page, and states no closure, funding pause, or waitlist. For additional housing information, the page directs residents to phila.gov/dhcd or 215-686-9749.
- Cost
- Free (grant of up to $10,000 or 6% of the purchase price, whichever is lower; counseling is free)
- Last verified
- October 23, 2026
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