Press Contact Only:
Margaret Matrone, NCHFA, 919-877-5606,
Connie Helmlinger, NCHFA, 919-877-5607,
Purchasing power has increased for first-time home buyers in North Carolina. The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency raised the sales price and income limits for its First-Time Home Buyer Mortgage this month, enabling more people to qualify for below-market interest rates that are currently 5.875%.
“The increases are based on changes in the median incomes and home prices across the state,” said Lucius S. Jones, chairman of the agency’s board of directors. “The new limits provide more opportunities for North Carolinians to find homes in their communities that qualifies for our loans.”.
The new statewide sales price limits are $185,000 for new homes and $170,000 for existing homes, for buyers using the Agency’s 30-year fixed-rate FHA, VA, USDA or conventional mortgages.
The new income limits range up to $81,500 in Raleigh or Cary, where the average income is highest in the state. In most non-metropolitan counties, the maximum qualifying income is $60,500. Income and sales price limits vary by county and family size.
For the 1,500 first-time buyers who used the mortgages in 2005, the average income was $39,350, and the average home price was $108,775.
Buyers with lower incomes may qualify for downpayment assistance up to $7,000 in the form of zero-interest, deferred second mortgages that are paid when the primary loan is retired or the house is sold. Conventional loans with 100% financing are available to qualified buyers. The agency’s mortgage also includes a Job Loss Feature to help homeowners keep their home. If eligible homeowners become unemployed in the first two years of the loan, the agency will make four months of principal and interest payments to be repaid at the end of the mortgage term with no interest.
The First-Time Home Buyer Mortgage is available through more than 700 lenders and their branches statewide. A lender list and description of all the agency home buyer programs are available at www.nchfa.com or by calling 800-393-0988.
The North Carolina Housing Finance Agency is a self-supporting public agency. It has financed 170,000 homes and apartments in the last three decades, including 71,000 homes for first-time home buyers. To learn more, go to www.nchfa.com or call 919-877-700 or 800-393-0988.
Household Income & Sales Price Limits for Low-Interest Mortgages
from the N.C. Housing Finance Agency
|
|
Maximum Income |
Maximum Sales Price |
|||
|
|
1-person |
2-person |
3+-person |
New |
Existing |
|
Charlotte MSA* |
$63,500 |
$64,000 |
$73,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Currituck County |
$59,500 |
$60,000 |
$69,000 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Dare, Iredell & Moore counties |
$55,500 |
$56,000 |
$64,000 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Greensboro - High Point MSAs |
$55,500 |
$56,000 |
$64,000 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Lincoln County |
$53,500 |
$54,000 |
$62,000 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Durham MSA |
$61,000 |
$61,500 |
$70,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Winston-Salem MSA |
$57,500 |
$58,000 |
$66,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Raleigh-Cary MSA |
$70,500 |
$71,000 |
$81,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
Wilmington MSA |
$53,000 |
$53,500 |
$61,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
|
All Other Counties |
$52,500 |
$53,000 |
$60,500 |
$185,000 |
$170,000 |
*MSA is an abbreviation for Metropolitan Statistical Area
Lower limits apply for Down Payment Assistance. visit www.nchfa.com.
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