Down Payment Help in San Antonio: Real Programs for 2026 First-Time Buyers

On my channel: Improving Your Credit Score for Homeownership Success!

The city program: up to $30,000 in San Antonio

The City of San Antonio's Homeownership Incentive Program, HIP, is the biggest local lever. HIP 80 provides $1,000 to $30,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance for households earning up to 80% of the area median income, as a 0% interest forgivable second loan. HIP 120 extends the program to households earning 81% to 120% of AMI with awards from $1,000 to $15,000. Both require the home to be your primary residence inside city limits, and most first-time buyers qualify after not owning a home in the past three years.

The statewide programs: up to 5% through TSAHC

The Texas State Affordable Housing Corporation's Home Sweet Texas Home Loan pairs a first mortgage with down payment and closing cost assistance of up to 5% of the loan amount, available as a non-repayable grant or a 0% deferred forgivable second lien. It works with FHA, VA, USDA, and conventional loans, and you generally need a credit score around 620. On a $300,000 home, 5% is $15,000 of help, which is meaningful no matter what your savings look like.

Two more to stack: TDHCA and Neighborhood Housing Services

The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs runs My First Texas Home and My Choice Texas Home, which provide roughly 3% to 5% down payment and closing cost assistance as 0% interest forgivable loans paired with 30-year fixed mortgages. And Neighborhood Housing Services of San Antonio offers up to $12,000 in down payment and closing cost assistance for eligible first-time buyers in Bexar County. Programs can sometimes be stacked with a city award, so the total help can go further than any single number.

The fine print that actually matters

Every one of these programs has conditions: a HUD-approved homebuyer education course, income caps tied to area median income, purchase price limits (HIP 120 capped purchases near $305,200 for existing homes and $325,800 for new construction under its 2025 limits), and an approved lender who knows how to file the paperwork. The awards are forgivable rather than monthly payments, which is what makes them genuinely useful: no interest, no payment, and a portion forgiven over time as long as you stay in the home.

What this means for your budget

A $10,000 award covers a 3.3% down payment on a $300,000 home, and a $30,000 HIP 80 award plus TSAHC assistance on the mortgage can take a family most of the way to a conventional 10% down. The honest caveat: awards are capped by income and purchase price, so the first step is pre-approval with a lender who works these programs daily rather than a general-purpose mortgage broker. I can point you to lenders I have closed these with. And since most programs screen credit, my video on raising your score before you apply is worth ten minutes.

How to start

Start with the homebuyer education class, then get pre-approved, then let me pull the current income and price caps for your situation before we look at homes. The numbers change year to year, and the program that fits a family in one ZIP may not fit another. What never changes is that qualifying buyers who skip assistance are leaving real money on the table.