Single-Family Housing Section 502 Home Loan Program: Self-Help and Affordable Housing Pilot

USDA Rural Development sent this bulletin at 03/23/2026 03:33 PM EDT

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March 23, 2026

Single-Family Housing Section 502 Home Loan Program: Self-Help and Affordable Housing Pilot

A notice regarding the Single-Family Housing Section 502 Self-Help and Affordable Housing Pilot was published in the Federal Register March 23, 2026.

The pilot extends the following program approaches:

Appraised values for self-help housing loans may: (1) exceed the maximum area loan limit, and (2) be used to establish the owner’s original equity. However, the Section 502 loan amount must be at or below the maximum loan limit.
When an applicant is receiving a housing grant or other form of affordable housing assistance for eligible loan purposes, the area loan limit may be exceeded by those amounts, provided that the Section 502 loan is at or below the area loan limit and is in the first lien position.

Pilot states include Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Tennessee, Washington, Utah, and Virginia.

Thank you for your support of the Single-Family Housing Section 502 Direct Loan Program.

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