Virginia Housing Boosts First Generation Homeownership with FirstHome Dream Program
January 8, 2026“My grandparents were not homeowners, and my parents were not homeowners,” says Paula, a Chesterfield County resident who recently used Virginia Housing’s FirstHome Dream program to become not only a first-time homebuyer, but also the first homeowner in her family. “I would be the first.”
Across Virginia, qualified first-generation borrowers can now use Virginia Housing’s FirstHome Dream to follow in Paula’s footsteps.
Through FirstHome Dream, Virginia Housing partners with a group of HUD-approved housing counselors to help first-generation homebuyers purchase their first homes. Qualified buyers – buyers who have never owned a home and whose parents have not owned a home within the last three years – receive an interest rate that’s two percentage points lower than Virginia Housing’s posted rate.
Virginia Housing first piloted the program in the Richmond region in Fiscal Year 2024, and after initial success, FirstHome Dream is now available to qualified buyers across the Commonwealth. Interested buyers should contact a Virginia Housing-approved lender who can connect them with a housing counselor to see whether they qualify for the FirstHome Dream program.
“I have two children and a grandson,” says Paula. “It means so much to me to know that they’ll always have a place to call home, that’s really important to me.”