Effected Programs: First Time Homebuyer, Homeward Bound, and HFA Advantage

Effective Date: August 14, 2023

A previous version of this email contained a document with incorrect information about the HFA Advantage Homebuyer Program limits. Please see the corrected document linked below.

NJHMFA Updated Income and Purchase Limits

This bulletin is to inform lenders that on August 14, 2023, NJHMFA will be adjusting our income limits for the First-Time Home Buyer Program, Homeward Bound Program, and the HFA Advantage Program, and our purchase price limits for the First Time Home Buyer Program. The income limits and maximum purchase price limits have been updated on our sheets linked below, and can also be viewed on the Lender Portal Page.

Some of the key changes to the program income limits include:

• The First-Time Home Buyer Program income limits will increase for most counties. The increases vary depending on family size and targeted area location and range from $2,600 to $8,400 for each county except for Bergen and Passaic County. The Bergen and Passaic income limits are decreasing between $1,000 to $1,400, depending on family size and targeted area location.

• The Homeward Bound and HFA Program income limits have decreased for all counties except Mercer County. The decreases range from $200 to $7,200. The increase in Mercer County is $720.

• As a reminder of the information provided in Lender Bulletin 2023-16, the incomes used to calculate eligibility for the lower PMI costs afforded to some HFA Advantage borrowers have increased for all counties. These increases range from $2,320 to $11,200. This is applicable for those loans with LPA findings indicating eligibility for charter-level mortgage insurance due to the AMI on the loan being below 80% of Freddie Mac’s AMI, which may be different from the NJHMFA AMI used for overall loan eligibility.

Some of the key changes to the program purchase price limits include:

• The First-Time Home Buyer Program purchase price limits have increased significantly for all counties. The increases range from an increase of $131,651 for 1-family homes in some lower-priced counties to an increase of $584,354 for a 4-family home in the highest-priced counties.
• For Federal Housing Administration (FHA) and Veteran Administration (VA) maximum mortgage amounts prevail if more restrictive than NJHMFA limits.
• For the HFA Advantage Program, Freddie Mac maximum mortgage amounts apply.

Pipeline Management:

Please refer to the new limits for eligibility purposes as of the live date of August 14, 2023. Our system will apply the new limits to all new and pipeline loans. If the new applicable limit has decreased, pipeline loans reserved before the system changes will be honored under the old limits.

For Agency programs where the maximum income limits are dropping, lenders should complete the reservation in the NJHMFA reservation system before the new income limits are in effect. Once the new limits are in place, we will be unable to accept new reservations that do not meet the posted limits.

Click Below For Updated Income and Purchase Limits:

• Urban Target Area Limits For the First-Time Homebuyer Program
• Statewide Limits For the First-Time Homebuyer Program
• Income Limits for HFA Advantage Homebuyer Program
• Income Limits for Homeward Bound Program Participants