# Zillow Group Offers Up to 3.5% Down Payment Help for FHA Buyers in 43 States

> Zillow Home Loans launched a program covering up to 3.5% of a home's value for FHA buyers, forgiven after five years of ownership and on-time payments.

- Published: 2026-11-07T18:51:06+00:00
- Section: Product Launches
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-11-07/zillow-down-payment-program-fha
- Source: [Yahoo](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/zillows-program-hands-buyers-3-173000496.html)

## Key takeaways

- Zillow Group rolled out the program on October 28 through Zillow Home Loans, covering up to 3.5% of a home's value for FHA buyers.
- On a $300,000 house the assistance comes to $10,500, structured as a second mortgage with no interest or monthly payments.
- Buyers who sell, move out or refinance before five years owe the full amount back, and the program is unavailable in seven states.

[Zillow Group](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003gtj/zillow-group) launched a down payment program on October 28 through Zillow Home Loans that covers up to 3.5% of a home's value for FHA buyers, or $10,500 on a $300,000 house, and is forgiven after five years of ownership and on-time payments. [Yahoo](https://finance.yahoo.com/real-estate/articles/zillows-program-hands-buyers-3-173000496.html) reported the terms.

## How the Zillow Home Loans Program Works

Eric Wilson, senior vice president and head of Zillow's mortgage business, said that "buyers tell us the down payment is what's holding them back." The money carries no interest and no monthly payment, and the program has no income limit and is open to repeat buyers. [Zillow Home Loans](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009sg5/zillow-home-loans) launched the program in 43 states and Washington, D.C., according to PR Newswire, offering up to 3.5% of the purchase price as a second loan.

Buyers need a credit score of 640 or higher, an FHA mortgage from Zillow Home Loans and a home they will live in. The assistance is capped at 3.5% of either the sale price or the appraised value, whichever is smaller, and buyers can add up to 6.5% of their own money for a total of 10%. The down payment loan comes from an outside creditor, and the assistance does not cover closing costs, which Zillow says usually run 2% to 5% of the total loan amount. Buyers in Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Virginia are shut out.

## The Five-Year Repayment Rule

Selling, moving out or refinancing before five years means repaying the full amount. Ryan Stanek, a licensed mortgage loan originator with Edge Home Finance, wrote on LinkedIn that "plenty of buyers taking today's rates are counting on a refinance if rates come down" and that "with this program, a refi in year two means paying back the down payment money as well." The average FHA rate was 6.78% in September.

Zillow's $1,080 annual savings estimate assumes a buyer has already saved 6.5% of the home's price. Researchers compared a buyer putting 6.5% down with one putting the same amount down plus the 3.5% loan on a typical U.S. home valued at $366,157 in September, with monthly payments of $3,010 and $2,920 respectively. Dee Bares, a mortgage loan originator at Paramount Residential Mortgage Group, posted that "before celebrating the assistance, compare the interest rate, APR, and total loan costs."

## Zillow's Mortgage Push and Earlier Launches

Zillow Group named Rian Furey, formerly COO of Impac Mortgage, president of Zillow Home Loans in August 2026, HousingWire reported. Zillow launched a connector in October 2026 that brings its listings, maps, home values and affordability tools into Claude, TradingView reported. In July 2026, according to [akta.pro company records](https://akta.pro/company-data), Zillow launched Zillow Pro, a premium membership with AI-enabled CRM tools, collaboration features and enhanced agent profiles.

The same records show Zillow announced a restructuring in August 2026 eliminating approximately 7% of its workforce, over 500 positions, with expectations of approximately $75 million in annualized EBITDA savings. Zillow reported $772 million in Q2 2026 revenue, up 18% year-over-year, and guided to $2.92 billion to $2.96 billion in full-year 2026 revenue.

## Companies in this story

- [Zillow Group company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0003gtj/zillow-group) · website: http://zillowgroup.com
- [Zillow Home Loans company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0009sg5/zillow-home-loans) · website: https://www.zillowhomeloans.com

---
News for Agent · https://newsforagent.com/llms.txt