Cambridge Tightens Affordable Homeownership Program as Demand Surges

Fewer residents will qualify for Cambridge’s affordable homeownership program after the city’s Affordable Housing Trust tightened eligibility rules last month, citing surging demand and limited capacity.

The HomeBridge program — which subsidizes market-rate home purchases for first-time, middle-income buyers — has seen a spike in applications as housing prices continue to climb. Homes purchased through the program become permanently income-restricted.

Following a record 16 home purchases in 2025, the trust voted to narrow eligibility to prioritize applicants deemed most likely to complete a purchase.

Under the changes, which took effect March 26, only current Cambridge residents are eligible. Previously, non-residents who worked in the city could apply. The program also increased the required mortgage burden from 25 percent to 30 percent of a buyer’s income.

Officials also imposed stricter timelines. Approved buyers now have four months to purchase a home, with only one four-month extension allowed. Applicants who fail to buy within that window must wait one year before reapplying.

The policy shift comes as Cambridge faces broader fiscal pressure, including the loss of millions in federal funding and a directive to cut city spending by 2.1 percent — roughly $12 million — in fiscal year 2027.

City Housing Director Christopher Cotter said, however, that the changes were driven by program demand rather than budget cuts.

Instead, Cotter said the goal is to improve efficiency and direct limited resources toward applicants most likely to succeed.

“Trying to prioritize our ability to review those applications that we think can move and be successful in the market was one of the main goals in some of these changes,” he said.

A surge in applications has strained staff capacity and slowed processing times, prompting the overhaul.

The trust had already allocated an additional $10 million to HomeBridge in 2024, aiming to support roughly 20 buyers. Since its launch in 2017, the program has assisted in the purchase of more than 120 homes.

“We’ve seen more buyers close with HomeBridge assistance over the last few years than we have, I think, really ever,” Cotter said. “Recognizing that and the impact that that has on the resources and the capacity of the program, we wanted to make sure that we’re running the program as efficiently as we can, to keep those numbers in line.”

While much of the trust’s work focuses on rental housing, Cotter said the changes are intended to better serve middle-income residents seeking homeownership.

“I think it’s going to help folks that are in that, say, moderate to middle-income range, that are looking for home ownership. I think that the program is really not changing for them,” Cotter said. “What we’re doing is trying to streamline it so that it will work better for them,” he added.

—Staff writer Shawn A. Boehmer can be reached at [email protected] and on Signal at shawnb.18. Follow him on X @ShawnBoehmer.

—Staff writer Risha Sinha can be reached at [email protected].