Utah's $10,000 Grant and $20,000 Loan: Two Down Payment Programs Most Buyers Miss

Quick answer: Utah has two down payment programs that sit outside the usual lender list. The Salt Lake Board of Realtors American Dream Grant gives $10,000 toward a first-time buyer’s down payment and closing costs, is a grant that is never repaid, and has $240,000 available for 2026. Remaining drawings are September 16 and November 18, with applications due noon the day before, and only a Salt Lake Board of Realtors member agent can submit the application. Utah’s SB 240 program lends up to $20,000 at zero percent interest toward a newly constructed home priced at or under $450,000, repaid when you sell or refinance. Funds are available until depleted.

By Kris Bowen, Real Estate Broker, LPT Realty, and a member of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors. Verified against slrealtors.com and Utah Housing Corporation, August 2026.

Most first-time buyers in Utah hear about the same handful of Utah Housing Corporation products, because those are the ones a lender is set up to originate. These two are different. One is administered by a Realtor association rather than a lender, so it rarely comes up in a loan conversation at all. The other only applies to new construction, so it gets skipped whenever a buyer starts their search on resale listings.

Between them they are worth up to $30,000, and the eligibility rules are specific enough that it is worth ten minutes to check.

The two programs side by side

	American Dream Grant	SB 240 Assistance Program
Amount	$10,000	Up to $20,000
Grant or loan	Grant. Never repaid.	Loan. 0% interest, no monthly payment, repaid at sale or refinance
Run by	Salt Lake Board of Realtors	Utah Housing Corporation (state)
Property type	Owner-occupied. Modular and manufactured qualify; mobile does not	New construction only, never previously lived in
Price cap	None published	$450,000
Income cap	$141,400 household	Utah Housing limits apply
Credit	Above 640	Must qualify for a Utah Housing mortgage
How you apply	Your agent applies for you, and must be an SLBR member	Through a Utah Housing participating lender
Timing	Drawings Sep 16 and Nov 18, 2026. Apps due noon the day before	Until funds are depleted
Deadline pressure	Must close within 90 days of award	First come, first served

The American Dream Grant: $10,000 you do not pay back

The Salt Lake Board of Realtors started this through its Charity Committee in 2019. For 2026 the Board has $240,000 allocated, awarded in $10,000 amounts by periodic drawing. It goes toward your down payment and closing costs.

Who qualifies

• First-time buyer, or you have not owned a home in the last three years
• Credit score above 640
• Household income no more than $141,400
• The home must be owner-occupied. Modular and manufactured homes qualify. Mobile homes do not
• You must close within 90 days of being awarded the grant
• Your agent must be a member of the Salt Lake Board of Realtors

The part that trips people up

You cannot apply for this yourself. The application is submitted online by a Salt Lake Board of Realtors member agent on your behalf. If your agent is not a member, or does not know the program exists, the money is simply not available to you, and nothing in your loan file will ever tell you that.

I am a Salt Lake Board of Realtors member, so I can submit it for you. If you are working with another agent, ask them directly whether they belong to the Salt Lake Board of Realtors, because plenty of excellent Utah agents belong to a different board and would have no way to file it.

The dates that matter

The remaining 2026 drawings are Wednesday September 16 and Wednesday November 18. Applications for each are due by noon the day before, so noon on Monday, September 15 and noon on Tuesday, November 17.

Start the conversation with your agent at least a week ahead. And read the 90-day closing requirement carefully before you apply: winning the grant starts a clock, and if you are still shopping rather than under contract, the timing can work against you.

SB 240: up to $20,000 on a new build

Utah Senate Bill 240, passed in 2023, created the First-time Homebuyers Assistance Program, administered by Utah Housing Corporation. The program was structured to help roughly 2,400 first-time buyers, and funds are available until depleted.

How it works

• Up to $20,000 toward the purchase
• The home must be newly constructed and never lived in
• Purchase price no higher than $450,000
• You must qualify for a Utah Housing mortgage through a Utah Housing participating lender
• The money is a loan at zero percent interest with no monthly payment, repaid when you sell the home or refinance the mortgage

What that actually means for your payment

Because there is no interest and no monthly payment, this does not raise your housing cost while you live there. It lowers the cash you need at closing, which for most first-time buyers is the actual barrier rather than the payment.

The trade is at the back end. When you sell or refinance, the $20,000 comes out of your proceeds. If your home has appreciated, that is a manageable line on a settlement statement. If you sell early in a flat market, it is $20,000 of equity you do not have. Neither outcome is a reason to skip the program. It is a reason to plan on staying put for a while.

The $450,000 ceiling is the real constraint

At a $450,000 cap, this program points you at specific product: townhomes, smaller detached plans, and the lower price bands in Utah’s larger master-planned communities. That is a narrower slice of new construction on the Wasatch Front than it was three years ago, and it moves as builders adjust their price sheets. It is worth asking which currently-selling plans in your target cities actually land under the cap before you fall for a floor plan that does not.

Which one applies to you

Buying new construction at or under $450,000? Look at SB 240 first, then ask whether the grant can work alongside it. Stacking depends on the loan product and what funds are available at the time, so this is a question for your lender and your agent together rather than a rule you can look up.

Buying a resale home? SB 240 is out. The American Dream Grant is the one to chase, and the September 15 deadline is the next one.

Not sure yet? Check both before you narrow the search, because the answer can change which homes you should be looking at. That is backwards from how most people shop, and it is the reason this gets missed.

The programs your lender will already mention

Utah Housing Corporation also runs FirstHome, HomeAgain, Score, and a second-mortgage down payment assistance product. Those are the mainstream options and most participating lenders lead with them. They are covered in the Utah first-time home buyer guide, along with the credit and income thresholds for each.

This page exists for the two that are not on that list.

Next steps

Tell me your price range, whether you are looking at new construction or resale, and your rough timeline. I will tell you which of these two you can actually use and whether the calendar works for the next drawing. If neither fits, I will say so rather than sell you on a program you cannot qualify for.

Useful next reads: Utah has priced out its own workforce for what it takes to buy in every ZIP on the Wasatch Front, the Utah first-time home buyer guide, Utah closing costs for the rest of what you owe at settlement, and the affordability calculator to see how $10,000 or $20,000 changes your range.

Call 801-999-8005 with questions.

Program terms come from the Salt Lake Board of Realtors and Utah Housing Corporation and can change without notice. Confirm current eligibility, funding availability, and drawing dates with the program administrator before making a decision. Utah Housing loan qualification is determined by a participating lender, not by a real estate broker.