First Home Mortgage is launching a rate discount program for first-time homebuyers, the company announced in a press release.
The program, First Home Advantage, gives eligible first-time homeowners access to lower interest rates.
“We are excited to provide such a timely program,” said First Home Mortgage founder and CEO David Waters. “The First Home Advantage program levels the playing field for those who may have been overlooked in the past due to credit score issues.”
Eligibility is based on annual income and geography, with different income limits in different areas. Borrowers in high-cost regions could be eligible with incomes as high as $168,600 a year.
First Home says it created the program because more than 40% of loans it originated in 2022 were first-timers, despite the challenges this group faces today.
First-time buyers face pressure on all sides as the market corrects. High interest rates lower their chances of affording a monthly payment, while home prices remain elevated due to cash-flush older homeowners who can leverage their equity.
Ed Pinto, director of the AEI Housing Center at the American Enterprise Institute, notes that lenders, real estate agents, and home sellers have benefited from rising rates, while others have been sidelined.
“Left out as beneficiaries are first-time buyers,” he told Fortune. “Rather than being a boon, housing is getting further out of reach as entry-level home prices soar.”
“It has certainly been an interesting time in the market, but we are always ready and willing to rise to meet any challenge,” said Steve Lagana, President of First Home Mortgage. “With the launch of First Home Advantage, our loan officers can safely guide buyers with confidence and ease through a process that would typically be a difficult experience.”
First Home Mortgage is a full-service residential lender with 35 offices across 21 states in the Northeastern, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern regions.