Virginia Housing is the state housing agency, the one most people still call VHDA. It does not lend directly. It buys and backs loans originated by approved lenders, and it attaches down payment and closing cost help to them. For a first-time buyer in the Richmond area it is usually the most generous program on the table, and it is also the one with the most conditions attached.
The figures below were read directly from Virginia Housing own pages on 18 September 2026. Where the agency does not publish a number, we say so rather than guess.
The income and sales price limits for the Richmond MSA
This is the gate everything else sits behind. Virginia Housing publishes limits by metropolitan area, and the Richmond figures below carry an effective date of 1 August 2026 on the agency income and sales price limits page, read 18 September 2026.
| Program group | Income limit, 2 or fewer people | Income limit, 3 or more people | Sales price / loan limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grant programs (DPA and CCA), first-time buyers, counts all household member income | $96,000 | $110,000 | $550,000 |
| Standard / bond programs, first-time buyers, counts all household member income | $120,000 | $138,000 | $550,000 |
| Expanded / non-bond programs, first-time and repeat buyers, counts qualifying income only | $175,000, all household sizes | No sales price limit; follow GSE, insurer or guarantor loan limits | |
Two details in that table do more damage than anything else in the program. First, the grant and bond columns count all household member income, not just the income of the people on the loan. An adult child working part time counts. A parent living with you counts. The expanded non-bond column counts qualifying income, which is the narrower, familiar definition. Households get disqualified from the grants by a roommate income nobody thought to mention.
Second, the limits are not statewide. Virginia Housing applies the All Other Areas of Virginia figures, $90,000 and $103,000 for the grant programs with a $500,000 sales price limit, to any jurisdiction not on an area list. The Richmond MSA list covers Amelia, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King William, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George and Sussex counties, plus Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg and the City of Richmond.
Where the $550,000 ceiling actually binds
A sales price limit only matters if local prices run into it. Across most of this metro they do not, and in one county they emphatically do.
| Area | Closed sales | Median sold price | Median vs the $550,000 limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Richmond City | 163 | $403,500 | $146,500 below |
| Henrico County | 229 | $425,000 | $125,000 below |
| Richmond Metro | 871 | $450,000 | $100,000 below |
| Chesterfield County | 372 | $453,975 | $96,025 below |
| Hanover County | 107 | $510,000 | $40,000 below |
| Goochland County | 33 | $688,702 | $138,702 above |
| [DATA NEEDED: median price per square foot, August 2026, by area] | |||
Goochland County is the outlier, and its median is built on 33 closings in the month, so treat it as a signal about the county mix rather than a precise threshold. The practical reading: a first-time buyer using these programs will find inventory comfortably inside the limit in North Side, Lakeside and most of Chesterfield, and will be shopping the bottom half of the market in Goochland. You can filter the current inventory by price yourself on our property search.
Grants versus a second mortgage
Virginia Housing offers three distinct pieces of assistance, and buyers routinely conflate them. They behave very differently.
| Program | Repaid? | Amount | Who qualifies |
|---|---|---|---|
| Down Payment Assistance Grant | No. A true grant | [DATA NEEDED: Down Payment Assistance Grant amount as a percentage of sales price, from Virginia Housing]. Paired with a 1 percent down payment structure | First-time buyers with a Virginia Housing bond FHA or conventional loan, inside the grant income and sales price limits |
| Closing Cost Assistance Grant | No. A true grant | Up to 2 percent of the purchase price | First-time buyers with a Virginia Housing bond USDA or VA loan |
| Plus Second Mortgage | Yes. A 30-year fixed second lien | Qualified buyers can borrow up to 1.5 percent more than the sales price | First-time and repeat buyers, at Virginia Housing standard income limits |
The Closing Cost Assistance Grant is worth up to 2 percent of the purchase price and can be applied to closing costs, USDA guarantee fees or VA funding fees. On a $400,000 purchase that is up to $8,000 that never has to be repaid. The Plus Second Mortgage is the opposite instrument: it gets a buyer to a zero percent down payment and can cover closing costs by allowing borrowing above the sales price, but it is debt, it carries a payment, and it raises your total monthly obligation.
Virginia Housing publishes the first mortgage side on its home loan options page: conventional at 97 percent maximum financing with a 640 minimum credit score, FHA at 3.5 percent down with scores as low as 620, and VA and USDA at 100 percent financing with scores as low as 620. The grants attach only to the bond versions of those programs, which is the condition buyers miss.
Get the Richmond closing-timeline checklist
Assistance programs add steps: a certificate from a homebuyer class, a bond loan reservation, an approved lender, and an offer written so the seller credit and the grant do not cancel each other out. Our one-page Richmond closing-timeline checklist lays out every deadline between ratification and settlement in order, with the extra Virginia Housing steps marked where they fall. Ask us for the closing-timeline checklist and we will send it over.
The homebuyer education requirement
Many Virginia Housing loans require completion of a free homebuying course, and the agency runs it three ways: in-person classes with live instructors, virtual sessions and self-paced online courses, plus a free eBook and a link to find a HUD-approved housing counselor. Details and the class calendar are on the Virginia Housing homebuyer education page.
Budget a full day. The sessions listed on the agency calendar for mid-September 2026 ran from 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and 9:45 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Do it before you are under contract. Buyers who leave it until the appraisal is back end up paying for a lock extension to wait on a certificate, which is an expensive way to save an afternoon.
The first-time buyer definition, and the exceptions
The grant programs and the bond programs require first-time buyer status. The Plus Second Mortgage and the expanded non-bond programs do not.
[DATA NEEDED: Virginia Housing published definition of a first-time homebuyer, including the three-year prior ownership lookback, quoted from the agency own materials. The agency program pages we read on 18 September 2026 state the first-time buyer requirement but do not state the lookback period on the page itself.]
There is one documented exception worth knowing. Virginia Housing Areas of Economic Opportunity are federal targeted areas where the agency relaxes program requirements, including raising the maximum allowable income and sales price limits and waiving first-time homebuyer restrictions altogether. The page carries a targeted area status effective date of 13 March 2024 and a limits effective date of 19 August 2025, with the boundaries searchable on an agency map. [DATA NEEDED: the targeted area income and sales price limits that apply to Richmond MSA jurisdictions, which sit in a linked table we could not open in a browser session.]
If you owned a home before and it has been a while, do not self-disqualify. Ask an approved lender to run the test, and ask separately whether the property you want sits in a targeted area, because that single fact can move you from ineligible to eligible with higher limits.
The catches, in the order they bite
- Household income, not borrower income. The grant and bond limits count all household member income. This is the most common disqualification and it happens late, after an offer is accepted.
- The grants are tied to specific first mortgages. The Down Payment Assistance Grant requires a bond FHA or conventional loan from Virginia Housing. The Closing Cost Assistance Grant requires a bond USDA or VA loan. Pick the wrong first mortgage and the grant disappears.
- Bond program capacity is finite. Bond-funded programs run on allocations, so availability is a real variable rather than a permanent entitlement. Reserve early in the process and confirm availability the week you go under contract.
- Grants and seller credits compete. Every first mortgage program caps total interested-party contributions. A 2 percent closing cost grant plus a 3 percent seller credit can exceed what the loan allows, and the excess is simply lost. Decide the mix before you write, which is a conversation to have when you start working with an agent, not at settlement.
- Approved lenders only. These loans originate through Virginia Housing approved lenders, and volume varies widely among them. Our preferred lender list is a place to start asking.
- The sales price limit is a hard ceiling. $550,000 in the Richmond MSA on the grant and bond programs. There is no appraisal-based workaround.
None of that makes the programs a bad deal. A grant that never has to be repaid is the best money in residential lending. It makes them a deal with a checklist, and the checklist has to be worked in the right order. The neighboring decisions are covered in our guides to what down payment you actually need, what credit score you need in 2026, and private mortgage insurance. If you are comparing programs, our post on rate locks covers the timing side of the same decision.
Frequently asked questions
What counts as the Richmond MSA for Virginia Housing income limits?
Virginia Housing lists the Richmond MSA as Amelia, Charles City, Chesterfield, Dinwiddie, Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, King William, New Kent, Powhatan, Prince George and Sussex counties plus Colonial Heights, Hopewell, Petersburg and the City of Richmond. If your jurisdiction is not on an area list, the All Other Areas of Virginia limits apply, which are lower: $90,000 and $103,000 for the grant programs.
Can I use a Virginia Housing loan on a condo or a townhouse?
Yes, subject to the same sales price and loan limits and to the first mortgage program rules. A condo still has to clear FHA, VA, USDA or conventional project approval depending on which first mortgage you use, which is a separate hurdle from the Virginia Housing overlay and the one that most often kills a condo contract late.
Do I have to use a specific lender?
Yes. The grants and the Plus Second Mortgage are only available with an eligible Virginia Housing first mortgage, which means originating through a Virginia Housing approved lender. Not every local loan officer is approved, and not every approved loan officer runs volume in these programs. Ask how many they closed last year before you pick one.
Is the Down Payment Assistance Grant repaid if I sell in two years?
No. Virginia Housing describes the Down Payment Assistance Grant as a true grant with no repayment required, and says the same about the Closing Cost Assistance Grant. That is the main practical difference between the grants and the Plus Second Mortgage, which is a real 30-year fixed second lien you pay back.
What credit score do I need?
Virginia Housing lists a 640 minimum for its conventional programs and credit scores as low as 620 for its FHA, VA and USDA options. Those are program floors, not approval guarantees, and the first mortgage insurer or guarantor sets its own overlays on top. A higher score also changes your conventional mortgage insurance cost materially.
How long is homebuyer education, and does it expire?
Virginia Housing runs free first-time homebuyer classes that generally fill a working day; the September 2026 sessions on the agency calendar run roughly six to seven hours, for example 9:15 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Online and virtual options exist. Certificate validity periods are set by the program, so complete it early rather than in the last week before closing.
Can I combine a Virginia Housing grant with seller-paid closing costs?
Sometimes, but not without arithmetic. The first mortgage program caps total interested-party contributions, and a 2 percent Closing Cost Assistance Grant plus a 3 percent seller credit can exceed what the loan will allow, which means part of the seller credit is wasted. Decide the mix before you write the offer, not at the settlement table.
Work the steps in order. Request the Richmond closing-timeline checklist and you will see exactly where the class certificate, the loan reservation and the seller credit decision have to land.
This article is general information and not legal, tax or lending advice. Program terms, limits and effective dates change; confirm current figures with a Virginia Housing approved lender and with the agency itself before relying on them, and talk to a Virginia real estate attorney about your contract.
