First-time home buyer programs in Connecticut: CHFA and Hartford

What does CHFA offer?

CHFA is the state’s housing finance agency. It offers 30-year fixed-rate mortgages at below-market rates to low- and moderate-income buyers, and you apply through a CHFA-participating lender. CHFA’s first-time buyer guide says you must be a first-time buyer or have not owned a home in the past three years. People who owned a home more recently can still qualify if they buy in a federally designated targeted area and own no other property at closing.

CHFA’s “All Homebuyer Mortgage Programs” page lists these main options:

• HFA Advantage and HFA Preferred: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conventional loans with low-cost mortgage insurance requirements.
• Government-insured loans: FHA, VA or USDA loans at below-market rates, paired with CHFA down payment loans. See our guides to FHA loans and VA loans.
• Down Payment Assistance Program (DAP) and Time To Own, described below.
• Next Move with Deferred DPA, for first-time and repeat buyers.
• Special programs for teachers, police officers, military members and veterans, people with disabilities, and residents of public housing.

CHFA takes 0.125% off its published rate for some of these groups, and 0.25% off for homes in a federally designated targeted area. The two discounts cannot be combined. A free homebuyer education class is required before closing for the DAP loan.

Down payment assistance: amounts and conditions

Sources: CHFA program pages. Rates and funds change; check CHFA before you apply.

Time To Own is administered by CHFA on behalf of the Connecticut Department of Housing. CHFA’s page says that on September 8, 2026, the State Bond Commission authorized another $5,000,000, and that as of October 5, 2026, $15,496,650 was available for reservations. Applicants must be Connecticut residents for the past three years and receive a CHFA first mortgage.

DAP cannot exceed the minimum down payment your loan requires, which CHFA says is usually between 3% and 3.5%.

A worked example

Take a $247,100 home, the 2024 median value in Hartford (see Connecticut home prices). A DAP loan sized at 4.00% of that price would be $9,884, below the $15,000 ceiling, though the lender caps it at the minimum down payment. A Time To Own loan can reach 20% down plus 5% closing costs, up to $25,000. Next Move at 3.5% of a $240,000 first mortgage would be $8,400. Your lender confirms which program fits your loan.

Income and price limits

CHFA publishes limits by planning region. Hartford is in the Capitol region. For CHFA’s “Make it Yours” bond program, the limits as of June 22, 2026, are:

Source: CHFA, Make it Yours (Bond) limits, Rev. 6-22-26. Target areas are specific census tracts, and CHFA says to check the address in the FFIEC geocoding system.

For Time To Own, CHFA’s June 13, 2026 sheet gives the Capitol region’s area median income (AMI) as $129,200 at 100% and $103,360 at 80%. Next Move requires income of no more than 120% of AMI. These limits are not the whole test: your lender also checks that you can repay the loans.

Programs in Hartford

The City of Hartford’s Housing Division lists three programs:

• HouseHartford: down payment assistance of up to 20% of the purchase price, capped at $40,000, for low- and moderate-income buyers of one- to four-family homes and condominiums in the city. The buyer must keep the home as a primary residence. Household income may not exceed HUD limits based on 80% of the Hartford-area median family income.
• Employee Homebuyer Assistance Program: no-interest, forgivable loans for down payments and closing costs for eligible City of Hartford and Hartford Board of Education employees.
• Housing Choice Voucher to Homeownership pilot: for participants in the city’s voucher program, a match of up to $4,000 on at least $1,000 saved for the purchase, plus a home repair reserve.

At the $247,100 median, 20% would be $49,420, so the $40,000 cap applies. The cap is reached at any price above $200,000. The City’s page does not list the income figures or forgiveness terms, so ask the City or a participating lender for the current ones. Our Hartford page shows local prices.

How to apply

1. Take a homebuyer education class; CHFA lists approved counseling agencies.
2. Get pre-approved by a CHFA-participating lender. You are not obligated to use the lender that pre-qualifies you.
3. Ask the lender to reserve the CHFA mortgage and any assistance. In Hartford, say you want HouseHartford too: the City’s page says buyers apply through a participating lender, who submits the application to the City.
4. Plan your closing costs. See closing costs in Connecticut and our home buying steps.