New Hampshire Home Loans 2026 — Complete Guide
New Hampshire offers up to $15,000 in NH Housing down payment assistance, plus why its no-income-tax, no-sales-tax setup pushes property tax rates among the highest nationally.
The number people miss: New Hampshire's "Homestead Right" sounds like it should lower your property tax bill, but it's actually a legal protection that shields a portion of home equity from unsecured creditors — not a tax reduction at all. Actual property tax relief for seniors comes through a separate, locally-adopted elderly exemption that varies town by town.
New Hampshire Down Payment Assistance — NH Housing Programs
New Hampshire Housing (NHHFA) offers down payment and closing cost assistance through a few different products, paired with a Home Flex, Home Preferred, or House First first mortgage.
NH Housing Down Payment Programs
Verify current repayment terms before assuming a structure: Sources genuinely disagree on Home Flex Plus's current repayment terms — some describe it as a grant with no repayment, others describe it as forgiven over 4-5 years of occupancy (with repayment triggered by an early sale, refinance, or bankruptcy), and others describe a fully deferred, repayable second mortgage. Confirm the exact current structure directly with an NH Housing-approved lender before budgeting around any specific version.
Home Preferred Plus is open to repeat buyers: Unlike Home Flex Plus, which generally targets first-time buyers, Home Preferred Plus works with Fannie Mae's HomeReady program and is available to both first-time and repeat buyers, offering up to 97% financing with discounted mortgage insurance.
Eligibility & Income Limits
NH Housing programs generally require a minimum 620 credit score and household income under limits that vary significantly by county — Rockingham and Hillsborough counties, the state's highest-cost areas, carry higher income limits than Coos or Sullivan counties.
Confirm your exact county limit and current program terms at NHHFA.org before applying — local programs like Portsmouth's HomeTown Program may also apply.
Current Rates
| Product | Rate | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 30-yr Conventional | 6.55% | Freddie Mac PMMS, week of July 16, 2026 |
| 15-yr Fixed | 5.93% | Freddie Mac PMMS, week of July 16, 2026 |
| NH Housing first mortgage | Below market | Confirm current rate with an NH Housing-approved lender |
2026 Loan Limits by County
Rockingham and Strafford counties (Seacoast region, near the Massachusetts and Maine borders) carry New Hampshire's highest FHA limits. Hillsborough sits in a middle tier, while the remaining seven counties use the standard floor.
| Area | FHA Limit |
|---|---|
| Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coos, Grafton, Merrimack, Sullivan | $541,287 |
| Hillsborough | $589,950 |
| Rockingham & Strafford | $962,550 |
Conforming (conventional) limits stay at $832,750 in most counties, with some sources indicating a modest elevation in a few counties. Verify your exact figures at HUD.gov before house-hunting.
Property Tax in New Hampshire
What Buyers Should Budget For
New Hampshire funds nearly all state and local government through property tax, since it has no sales tax and, as of 2025, no income tax of any kind — the state fully phased out its former 5% tax on interest and dividends. The tradeoff is one of the highest effective property tax rates in the country, and it varies enormously by town: Rockingham County residents pay a median of roughly $7,500 a year, while Coos County residents pay closer to $3,500. The "Homestead Right" that many buyers assume will lower their bill is actually a creditor-protection law, not a tax reduction. Real relief for seniors comes through a locally-adopted Elderly Exemption, with eligibility, income/asset thresholds, and exemption amounts set independently by each municipality — Manchester and Lebanon, for instance, use different age brackets and asset limits. Veterans can access local credits typically worth $500 to $750 a year, with higher amounts for service-connected disabilities, applied directly to the tax bill.
Pick Your Loan Type
Are you a teacher, nurse, firefighter, police officer, EMT, or veteran? New Hampshire may run additional hero-specific loan programs on top of the general NH Housing options covered here. Browse the Hero Home Loan Programs hub and select New Hampshire for profession-specific options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Bottom Line: New Hampshire's zero income tax and zero sales tax genuinely help take-home pay, but property tax does the heavy lifting for state and local funding, landing among the highest in the country. NH Housing's down payment programs meaningfully reduce upfront costs — just confirm the current repayment structure, since descriptions vary — and don't assume the Homestead Right will touch your tax bill.
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