Affordable Housing Lottery Boston: How the IDP System Works for First-Time Buyers

Buying in Boston at market rate is out of reach for most first-time buyers. The median sale price for condominiums in the city regularly exceeds $700,000 — far beyond what income-qualified households can finance even with aggressive down payment assistance.

Boston's affordable housing lottery exists to address exactly this problem. Under the city's Inclusionary Development Policy (IDP), large residential developments must set aside a percentage of units at below-market prices, sold or rented to income-qualified residents through a lottery process administered by the Boston Planning Department.

For buyers who qualify and get through the lottery, this is one of the few mechanisms for purchasing new construction in Boston at a price that reflects actual income levels rather than speculative market values.

What the Inclusionary Development Policy Requires

The Boston Inclusionary Development Policy applies to residential developments of ten or more units. Developers must make either:

• 13% of total units available as affordable on-site, at prices set by the city's affordability guidelines, or
• 13% of units available as affordable at an off-site location within the city, or
• Pay a fee into the Neighborhood Housing Trust fund, which the city uses to fund affordable housing separately

For buyers, the relevant scenario is on-site and off-site affordable units. These units are deed-restricted — meaning the sale price is regulated not only at initial purchase but also at resale, preserving affordability for future buyers.

IDP units are sold at prices affordable to households earning between 70% and 100% of the Area Median Income (AMI). For 2026, that translates to:

• 70% AMI (1 person): approximately $62,650
• 100% AMI (family of 4): approximately $117,600

Exact income limits are set annually by HUD and adjusted for household size. The Boston Planning Department publishes updated limits each year.

Who Qualifies for the Lottery

To enter the lottery for an IDP for-sale unit, you typically must:

• Meet the income limits for the specific unit (verified with documentation — tax returns, pay stubs, bank statements)
• Be a first-time homebuyer (no ownership interest in residential property within the past three years)
• Intend to occupy the unit as your primary residence
• Not own any other residential real estate at the time of closing

Some lottery programs give preference points to Boston residents or employees of Boston public schools or the city government. These preference systems vary by development — read the specific marketing materials for each unit carefully.

Asset limits also apply. Unlike some state programs, IDP lottery programs typically do not have strict cash asset caps, but the purchase must be owner-occupied, which is verified at closing and through post-purchase compliance checks.

How the Lottery Process Works

When an IDP development comes to market, the developer and the Boston Planning Department jointly market the available affordable units. Marketing typically includes:

• Listings on the Boston Planning Department's online portal
• Notices distributed through community organizations
• Publication in local newspapers

The marketing period is usually 30 to 60 days. During this window, interested buyers complete an application with income and household documentation attached. All qualified applications received during the marketing period are entered into a computerized lottery — timing of application within the window doesn't affect your odds.

The lottery is held publicly. Applicants are selected in random order. The top-selected qualified applicant gets first choice of available units; if they decline or fail to qualify during the purchase process, the next applicant is contacted, and so on through the ranked list.

Being selected doesn't guarantee a purchase. You must then:

1. Complete a lender's pre-approval for the purchase price
2. Have an attorney review the purchase and sale agreement (Massachusetts is an attorney-closing state)
3. Pass income and asset verification
4. Agree to the deed restriction terms

If you can't complete the purchase within the timeframe, you forfeit your lottery position and the next applicant is contacted.

The Deed Restriction: What It Means for Resale

IDP units carry permanent deed restrictions that regulate future resale pricing. When you eventually sell, the price you can charge is calculated using a formula — typically based on the original affordable price adjusted for changes in the AMI since your purchase.

This means you will not realize typical Boston market appreciation. If you bought a unit for $280,000 in 2026 and Boston market prices double by 2036, your resale price under the deed restriction formula might only be $320,000. The restricted resale value preserves affordability for the next buyer.

This is not a hidden risk — it's explicit in the purchase and sale agreement and enforced by a deed covenant recorded at the Registry of Deeds. The trade-off is straightforward: significantly below-market entry price in exchange for limited equity appreciation.

For buyers whose primary goal is stable, affordable housing rather than investment appreciation, this trade-off is clear and reasonable. For buyers hoping to use their first home as a wealth-building vehicle, IDP units may not be the right fit.

Boston Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program

For buyers looking at multifamily properties — two- and three-family homes common in neighborhoods like Dorchester, Roxbury, and Jamaica Plain — the City of Boston launched a Co-Purchasing Housing Pilot Program designed specifically for this situation.

Under the pilot, two separate households can co-purchase a multifamily home together. Each household is treated as a distinct buyer for income qualification purposes. Qualifying households earning up to 100% of the AMI can receive up to $50,000 in 0% deferred down payment loans; households earning up to 135% AMI may receive up to $35,000.

Participants must sign a formal co-ownership agreement governing how expenses, decisions, and eventual sale proceeds are divided. Each co-purchasing household must contribute a minimum of 1.5% of the purchase price from their own funds.

This program is separate from the IDP lottery — it applies to market-rate multifamily purchases, not to deed-restricted IDP units.

How to Find and Track Available Units

Active IDP listings are maintained on the Boston Planning Department's website and distributed through the Mayor's Office of Housing. The most reliable way to track new availability is to:

• Register directly with the Boston Planning Department's affordable housing notification list
• Monitor the DHCD statewide affordable housing lottery database at housingworks.net
• Work with a real estate attorney or HUD-approved housing counselor who tracks these listings actively

Available inventory is limited and demand is high. Don't expect to enter one lottery and win immediately — most income-qualified buyers who successfully purchase through the IDP system entered multiple lotteries over one to three years before being selected.

Stacking IDP Units with State Programs

Affordable IDP units can frequently be combined with state mortgage programs. MassHousing's first mortgage product and the ONE Mortgage program (administered by the Massachusetts Housing Partnership) can both be used to finance IDP unit purchases, provided the buyer meets program income limits and first-time buyer requirements.

Using ONE Mortgage on an IDP unit purchase eliminates PMI, lowers the effective interest rate, and — for buyers under 80% AMI — provides an additional monthly subsidy. Combined with a below-market purchase price, this stacking can bring the effective monthly housing cost well below what the same income level would support in the private market.

The Massachusetts First-Time Home Buyer Guide covers the full stacking strategy: how to combine IDP purchases with MassHousing DPA, ONE Mortgage financing, and the Boston Home Center's down payment assistance programs to maximize purchasing power at every income level.

Realistic Expectations

The Boston affordable housing lottery is real, and people do win it. But it requires patience and preparation:

• Income qualification must be maintained from application through closing
• Job changes, salary increases past the limit, or acquiring other assets can disqualify you between lottery entry and closing
• The lottery doesn't guarantee you'll find a unit that fits your household size, location preference, or timeline
• The deed restriction means you're optimizing for stable housing costs, not market appreciation

For income-qualified buyers who can tolerate the timeline uncertainty, the affordable housing lottery remains one of the most powerful — and underused — tools in the Boston first-time buyer's toolkit.

See more Massachusetts guides →