Nevada First-Time Home Buyer Programs in 2026

The short version

Most of the down payment help in Nevada runs through one place: the Nevada Housing Division's Home Is Possible program, often shortened to HIP. It isn't a check the state mails you. You get it through an approved lender, as part of your mortgage, and you have to take a homebuyer education class first.

This is what HIP's own site listed when we checked it on September 29, 2026.

Source: Home Is Possible, Nevada Housing Division, program pages checked September 29, 2026. Terms change, and your lender has the final word on what you qualify for.

If you've owned before, or you're a teacher or essential worker

Three HIP options don't require you to be a first-time buyer.

Home Is Possible. Up to 5% of the loan value for down payment or closing costs. Qualifying income up to $165,000 and a home price up to $832,750, well above the typical northwest sale price. Ask your lender about the repayment terms, because the state's page doesn't spell them out.

HIP for Teachers. $7,500 toward the down payment and closing costs, forgiven after five years if you stay in the home. You have to be a licensed full-time K to 12 public school classroom teacher in Nevada. HIP says this one runs through December 31, 2026, so if you're a teacher thinking about next year, don't wait on it.

Worker Advantage. $20,000 as a no-interest, no-payment, 30-year second loan that isn't forgiven. You can put it all toward the down payment or use part of it to buy down your interest rate. It's for essential workers in health care, education, public safety and construction. The list on HIP's site includes physicians, registered nurses, teachers and school staff, firefighters, police officers, EMTs and paramedics, correctional officers and dispatchers. Only one borrower needs to be in a qualifying job. You need to have lived in Nevada at least six months, household income in Clark County has to be at or under $147,300, and you can't have used a Home Is Possible program before.

Veterans and military buyers

We love our military, so this section matters to us.

HIP's veterans page (checked September 29, 2026) points VA borrowers to the same programs above: Home Is Possible, HIP for First-Time Homebuyers, HIP for Teachers for teachers with military service, and Worker Advantage for active-duty military, veterans and reservists who work in a qualifying field.

One thing to watch: you'll still find older pages, including one on the state's veterans services site, describing a "Home Is Possible for Heroes" program with lower price and income caps. HIP's own site no longer lists it as of September 2026. Ask a HIP lender what's available today before you plan around it.

VA loans themselves are a federal benefit, separate from all of this. More on those below.

How it stacks with our Heroes Program

Our Heroes Program is our own, not a state program. If you're a nurse, doctor, teacher, firefighter, police officer, first responder, or military (active duty or veteran), we help pay some of your closing costs when you buy with us. It comes off at closing, as a credit.

The state programs mostly help with the down payment. Ours helps with closing costs. Put together, they can shrink the cash you need to bring to closing. A teacher, for example, might look at HIP for Teachers or Worker Advantage from the state and our Heroes Program from us.

The part people don't expect: every loan type has rules about credits at closing and how much of your closing costs someone else can cover. So we bring your lender in early, before you write an offer, and make sure the numbers work together. Details are on our Heroes Program page.

Loan basics, in plain terms

Down payment assistance sits on top of a regular mortgage. The main types:

• FHA loans are insured by the federal government and allow a low down payment and more flexible credit. HIP's guidelines cover FHA, VA and USDA loans as well as conventional ones.
• VA loans are for eligible veterans, service members and some surviving spouses. They often need no down payment at all.
• USDA loans are for homes in eligible rural areas. Eligibility depends on the address, so check the USDA's eligibility map for any home you're considering.
• Conventional loans are the ordinary kind, not government-backed.

Your lender will match the loan to your situation. Our job is to help you find the house and make sure the offer fits the loan you're using.

What a first home costs in Las Vegas right now

The median single-family home in Las Vegas sold for $475,000 in August 2026, and the median condo or townhome for $299,900 (Las Vegas REALTORS). In Centennial Hills the median sale price was $494,761 over the three months to August 2026 (Redfin). All of that sits well under HIP's $832,750 price limit, so the limit isn't usually what stops people. Income, credit and cash for closing are.

Steps to buying your first home here

1. Check your credit. HIP programs need at least 640. If you're below that, fix it first. It's worth the wait.
2. Take the homebuyer education class. HIP requires it. Do it early so it's not holding up your loan.
3. Find a HIP lender. The HIP site has a lender search. Ask which programs you qualify for and what each one costs you over time.
4. Get preapproved. Now you know your price range and your cash to close.
5. Tell us if you qualify for our Heroes Program. We'll coordinate with your lender so the closing credit fits the loan rules.
6. Shop. Start with a search of every home for sale in the MLS, then we'll walk the ones worth seeing.
7. Offer, inspect, appraise, close. We'll walk you through each one. And when something breaks in your first house, call Marc. He knows a guy.