The first number to know about the MI Home Loan is $566,355. That is the sales price limit MSHDA lists for loans after June 1, 2026, and it is one figure for the whole state. Traverse City, Frankfort and Bellaire all get the same cap.
The Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) runs the program, and you don't apply to MSHDA directly. You work with a participating lender. By MSHDA's description it is open to first-time buyers statewide (meaning you haven't owned a home in the previous three years) and to repeat buyers only in targeted areas. Household income limits apply and vary with family size and property location, and the minimum credit score is 640.
The down payment piece
This is the part most people ask about. MSHDA lists an MI 10K DPA Loan of up to $10,000, available statewide, and it requires a housing education class. MSHDA's Housing Education Locator is where you find one. The program calls it a loan, so ask your lender how it gets repaid before you count it as a $10,000 gift. I haven't seen the terms and I'm not going to guess at them.
Where the cap runs out
I would not plan on using the MI Home Loan for lake frontage. Waterfront on the Leelanau side and around the bays regularly lists well above $566,355, and the cap is on the sales price, so the number on the contract is the number that counts. The waterfront homes page is the quickest way to see what is out there today, and I'd expect the cap to rule out a lot of what is for sale on Old Mission Peninsula.
Where I'd expect it to be a real option is the less glamorous end of the market: condos, older houses on a village lot, and plenty of homes in Traverse City that haven't been updated in a while. That is my read, not a promise. The lender still has to approve the house, the income and the credit.
Two things I can't tell you
Income limits. They change with household size and with the county, I haven't run them for Grand Traverse, Leelanau or Antrim, and I left a figure out of this post on purpose. A participating lender can run your household in one conversation.
And I don't know which parts of our area count as targeted areas for repeat buyers. If you have owned a home in the last three years, that question comes before anything else here.
Order of operations
Lender first, class second, house third. Book the housing education class early if you want the $10K loan, and ask for a lender who has closed MSHDA loans before (the MI Home Loan page links to an experienced loan officer locator). It also helps to set your listing alerts with a price ceiling at $566,355 so you aren't falling for houses the program can't touch.
If you have a specific house in mind and want to know whether it fits under the cap, text me the address. I'm a Realtor, not a lender, so the actual yes or no comes from a participating lender, but I can tell you whether it's worth making the call.
Checked against the sources linked above in November 2026.
Taylor Brown, Realtor
Taylor@taylorbrownrealtor.com
Text (231) 360-1510 or Call Taylor
