First-Time Home Buyer Programs in Alaska 2026

Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) has two loans for first-time buyers, both made through its approved lenders. First Home Limited has a lower rate but federal income and acquisition-cost caps. First Home has a reduced rate and no caps. For either, you generally cannot have owned a primary residence in the last three years; First Home Limited waives this in targeted census tracts and for qualified veterans.

AHFC’s down payment help reaches buyers through other organizations: partner agencies under its Affordable Housing Enhanced Loan option (AHELP), and nonprofit intermediaries under its Home Opportunity Program. Both are covered on the Alaska down payment assistance page. What AHFC controls directly is the mortgage: which one you qualify for, what it costs, and which rate reductions you can add.

First Home Limited or First Home

Both loans cover single-family homes, condominiums, Common Interest Community units, duplexes and Type I manufactured homes. First Home is meant for first-time buyers whose income is above the First Home Limited limits, or whose chosen house costs more than its acquisition limits allow.

The three-year rule and its exceptions

AHFC’s definition is short: “A first-time homebuyer is someone who has not owned a primary residence in the last three years.” First Home Limited has two exceptions to it.

• Targeted areas. These are HUD-designated census tracts. AHFC sends you to the Census Bureau’s address lookup to check a property. Targeted tracts also have higher income and acquisition-cost limits.
• Qualified veterans. You must have been retired, discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Active-duty borrowers must have completed their initial military obligation. Proof is a Certificate of Eligibility or Title 38 letter, plus a DD214 or Statement of Service. The exception can be used only once: “No previous use of the First Home Limited or Veterans Mortgage program is allowed under the veterans’ exception.”

First Home Limited caps effective June 1, 2026

AHFC calculates income by multiplying the borrower’s gross monthly income by 12. Acquisition cost means “the total cost of acquiring the property from the seller”. Both limits are set by federal regulation and published by borough or census area. Some examples from the tables effective 06/01/2026:

• Income, non-targeted. Anchorage: $135,100 for 1-2 people, $155,365 for 3 or more. “All Other Areas”: $120,300 and $138,345.
• Income, targeted. Anchorage census tracts 5.00, 6.01, 6.02, 9.01 and 11.00: $162,120 and $189,140. The targeted tracts listed in Bethel, Fairbanks North Star, Kenai Peninsula, Mat-Su, Nome and other areas: $144,360 and $168,420.
• Acquisition cost, non-targeted. $566,354 for a new or existing single-family home in Anchorage, Fairbanks North Star, Mat-Su and “All Other Areas” ($725,146 for an existing duplex). Juneau is $624,491, Sitka $613,662, Aleutians West $612,459.
• Acquisition cost, targeted. $692,211 single-family and $886,289 existing duplex in every targeted tract listed.

The full tables are on AHFC’s lender pages. Your lender applies the row for the property’s location.

Rate reductions you can add to either loan

AHFC lists the same four options under both First Home and First Home Limited. Three of them lower the rate:

• Interest Rate Reduction for Low-Income Borrowers (IRRLIB). A 0.5% or 1% cut, depending on family income, on the first $180,000 of the loan. A larger loan gets a blended rate, rounded up to the next 0.125%. IRRLIB has its own ownership test: no primary residence in the last three years (“exceptions may apply”), and no other residential property within 50 miles of the new home. Homes 10 years old or older must be inspected.
• Energy efficiency interest rate reduction. The cut applies to the first $250,000 for loan commitments issued on or after 10/1/24. Its size depends on the home’s energy rating and on whether it has natural gas. For example, an existing 6 Star home without natural gas gets -0.375%, and a new 6 Star home without it gets -0.500%.
• State veterans preference. 1% off the rate on the first $50,000. It is for honorably discharged veterans with at least 90 days of active duty, and for honorably discharged members of the Alaska Army or Air National Guard, or reservists, with at least five years of service. Your income has to be within the “State Vet” limits. People currently serving on active duty do not qualify. It cannot be combined with AHFC’s Veterans Mortgage Program.

The fourth option is AHELP, which brings in outside down payment money (see below). Ask your lender which of the four you qualify for. AHFC says more than one can apply.

Putting 3% down with the 97% LTV option

House Bill 273, signed in July 2024, let AHFC raise its loan-to-value ceiling, and the 97% option followed in 2025. Buyers now choose between 95% and 97% financing. The 97% option layers onto most AHFC single-family programs, not just the first-time loans. It costs extra: “25 basis points, or ¼ of 1%”. In AHFC’s own example for a $400,000 home, the down payment falls from $20,000 to $12,000, and the monthly payment goes up by about $100, depending on the rate.

Where AHELP down payment money comes from

AHFC says AHELP assistance “may be a grant, deferred payment(s), a forgivable loan or a combination”. It comes from a government agency, a nonprofit or a regional housing authority, and you have to meet that provider’s rules. AHFC adds its own conditions: you cannot own other residential real property in the same general area, and one borrower must complete an approved homebuyer class. AHFC names these providers, noting that “Funds are subject to availability”:

• Anchorage: Cook Inlet Lending Center and North Pacific Rim Housing Authority
• Southcentral outside Anchorage, and Southeast: Alaska Community Development Corporation
• Fairbanks: Interior Regional Housing Authority
• Southeast: Ketchikan Indian Community Housing Authority and Tlingit-Haida Regional Housing Authority

AHFC’s Home Opportunity Program (HOP) also pays down payment and closing cost help to low-income buyers, through nonprofit intermediaries. AHFC’s HOP page says there is no grant funding for new allocating agencies right now, and it tells homebuyers to contact a listed agency. Alaska Community Development Corporation covers Fairbanks North Star, Mat-Su, the Kenai Peninsula, Juneau, Kodiak and other listed communities.

HomeChoice: AHFC’s free homebuyer class

HomeChoice: Steps to Homeownership is AHFC’s free course. It is online and self-paced and takes about two hours. The completion certificate is worth up to $250 off an Alaska Housing commitment fee. AHFC tells you to confirm with your lender that the class meets your program’s education requirement. If there are two borrowers, AHELP and IRRLIB require only one of you to finish a class.

Recapture tax on First Home Limited

If you have a First Home Limited loan, you may owe federal “recapture” tax when you sell, and AHFC recommends asking a tax professional whether it applies to you. You also have to read AHFC’s tax-exempt booklet and give the lender your most recent federal tax return.

Applying through an AHFC-approved lender

AHFC’s approved-lender list includes offices in Anchorage, Wasilla, Soldotna, Homer, Juneau, Fairbanks and Ketchikan. AHFC adds that “Other lenders may offer Alaska Housing loans in partnership with an approved lender.” For the pre-qualification appointment, AHFC’s checklist says the lender may ask for 30 days of pay stubs, three years of tax returns with W2s, bank statements and a list of your debts. Run the payment for your price in the mortgage calculator before that meeting, and read up on pre-approval.

Alaska first-time buyer questions

My income is too high for First Home Limited. Is there still a first-time loan?

Yes, First Home. It has no maximum income or acquisition cost. You still cannot have owned a primary residence in the last three years.

I’m a veteran and I owned a house last year. Can I use First Home Limited?

Yes, if you qualify for the veterans’ exception, provided you have never used First Home Limited or the Veterans Mortgage program under that exception.

How much house can I buy in Anchorage with First Home Limited?

Up to $566,354 for a single-family home outside the targeted tracts, and $692,211 inside tracts 5.00, 6.01, 6.02, 9.01 or 11.00, under the limits effective June 1, 2026.

Can I put only 3% down on an AHFC loan?

Yes. The 97% loan-to-value option allows it on most AHFC single-family programs, for 25 basis points more.

Where does down payment help for an AHFC loan come from?

From an AHELP partner agency, or through a HOP nonprofit intermediary such as Alaska Community Development Corporation, each with its own rules. AHFC’s own features are the rate reductions and the 97% option.

More on buying in Alaska

• Alaska closing costs
• Alaska state hub
• Mortgage lenders in Alaska
• How much house you can afford and the down payment calculator
• FHA loan requirements, the VA loan guide and FHA vs conventional
• Other states: Washington, Hawaii