It started in Dorchester. The nation’s first ever program to support first-generation homebuyers, those without the Bank of Mom and Dad, was launched here in Massachusetts in 2019 by the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance. In just four short years, the concept has taken off and now eleven different locations have first-gen programs, according to a report issued today by the Partnership for Financial Equity.

In 2021, just two years after MAHA launched its first-gen pilot program, Edina and St. Louis Park, Minnesota became the first communities outside of Massachusetts to offer first-generation DPA programs. 2022 saw Rhode Island, Vermont and Oregon begin programs as well as other efforts in North Carolina and additional locations in Minnesota. This year, Maine opened a first-generation pilot as did Long Beach, CA and last month the New Jersey legislature funded a new first-gen down payment assistance program.

This is the first in a series of Partnership for Financial Equity papers in the coming years that will highlight important financial innovations in reaching low- to moderate-income households and communities of color that began here in Massachusetts.