Kansas offers a bit of everything: the urban energy of Kansas City, the college town vibe of Lawrence or the calm of the open prairie. If you’re a first-time homebuyer looking for financial help in the state, start with the Kansas Housing Resources Corporation (KHRC). The state’s primary housing agency offers down payment assistance that could help you affordably purchase a home.
Kansas housing market statistics
- Median home sales price, as of Feb. 2025 (Redfin): $278,600
- Median down payment, as of Jan. 2025 (ATTOM): $52,750
- Most affordable counties, as of Jan. 2025 (ATTOM): Barber, Clark, Comanche, Decatur, Edwards, Elk, Gove, Harper, Jewell, Labette, Rawlins, Republic, Rooks, Rush, Woodson
Kansas down payment assistance
KHRC First-Time Homebuyer Program
The KHRC offers a down payment assistance program for first-time homebuyers, appropriately called the First-Time Homebuyer Program. The KHRC’s assistance, a second loan with no monthly payments, can help you cover as much as 15 percent and 20 percent of the home’s purchase price (up to a maximum of $40,000). Your income determines what amount you qualify for:
- 20 percent – If your household income is 50 percent or less of the area median income where you’re buying, you can qualify for a loan of up to 20 percent of the purchase price.
- 15 percent – If your household income is between 51 percent and 80 percent of the area median income, you can qualify for a loan of up to 15 percent of the purchase price.
If you’re buying a home in Topeka, Wichita, Lawrence, Kansas City or Johnson County, you’ll need to look for other options. The KHRC’s assistance is only available to buyers outside these areas.
KansasDPA
Co-sponsored by Sedgwick County and Shawnee County, KansasDPA is a statewide program that helps people in Kansas become first-time or repeat homeowners. If you participate in this program, you’ll get a 30-year fixed-rate conventional or government-backed loan, as well as a grant to pay for a percentage of your down payment or closing costs.
FHLBank Topeka Homeownership Set-aside Program (HSP)
The FHLBank Topeka Homeownership Set-aside program helps people build or buy homes across four states, including Kansas, by awarding first-time homebuyer grants to Kansas buyers. Funding ranges from $2,500 to $15,000 and can go toward down payments, closing costs or repairs. If you live in your home for at least five years, the grant will be forgiven.
City of Wichita’s HOMEownership 80 Program
Planning on purchasing a house in Wichita? The city of Wichita’s HOMEownership 80 Program provides grants to first-time homebuyers in certain parts of the city, with funding from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
City specific homebuyer assistance programs
Topeka Opportunity to Own (TOTO) Program
As one of the biggest cities in Kansas, Topeka might be on your shortlist. If so, it’s worth considering the Topeka Opportunity to Own (TOTO) program, which helps first-time homebuyers secure up to $30,000 to repair a home in the city. It also offers up to $5,000 in down payment assistance.
City of Leavenworth Home Ownership Program
The city of Leavenworth is also making a big push to attract first-time homebuyers since more than half of its residential properties are rentals. Under this program, you can receive up to $8,000 in grant funding for purchasing a home in the city.
Other Kansas homebuyer assistance programs
Kansas First-Time Home Buyer Savings Accounts
While it’s not a loan or grant, this is another useful program that helps first-time buyers purchase or build a home in Kansas. It lets Kansas residents open a dedicated savings account — with interest-free tax benefits — for a future home purchase.
With one of these accounts, you can contribute $3,000 (individual filers) or $6,000 (joint filers) to the account each year, tax-free. In total, you can save up to $50,000 in the account, which you can spend on a down payment or closing costs.
Other Kansas first-time homebuyer loans
In addition to exploring state and local homebuying assistance options in Kansas, it’s also worth looking into the following government-backed loans, which are available nationwide.
- FHA loans: Insured by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), FHA loans have looser credit score and down payment requirements than conventional loans. With an FHA loan, you’ll only need to make a down payment of 3.5 percent if your credit score is 580 or higher.
- VA loans: If you’re a veteran, active-duty service member or surviving military spouse, you may qualify for a VA loan. These loans, which are guaranteed by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, don’t require you to put any money down when buying a home and often have lower interest rates than conventional 30-year loans.
- USDA loans: Like VA loans, USDA loans are also no-down payment mortgages. To qualify, you’ll need to purchase a property in a designated rural area.
Get started
If you’re serious about buying a home in Kansas, start comparing options to get a good sense of what mortgage rates are available from banks, credit unions and other types of mortgage lenders in the state.
You can also use Bankrate’s guide to first-time homebuyer loans and programs to see what you can qualify for on a national level. And before taking the plunge into first-time homeownership, be sure you understand all the associated costs — including things like home maintenance and homeowners insurance.
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