One Philly Mortgage: how the city's planned home loan would work, and where Council comes in

Mayor Cherelle L. Parker wants to start a city-backed mortgage program for first-time buyers by the end of 2026. The plan has drawn national criticism, and the Inquirer laid out how it is supposed to work.

If you rent and want to buy, this is the piece of the mayor's housing plan aimed at you. It hasn't launched, and the details could still change.

How it would work

According to the Inquirer:

• The loan. A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage for first-time homebuyers. Public money would pay part of the interest. No private mortgage insurance would be required.
• Down payment. No more than 3%.
• Who qualifies. A credit score of at least 620 and household income up to 120% of area median income, about $100,000 for one person or $143,000 for a family of four.
• Lenders. Citizens Bank is the first partner. The city is talking with other banks.
• The model. The paper compared it to Massachusetts' ONE Mortgage program, which has helped about 22,000 households.

Parker has said she wants banks to "take this risk" alongside the city, the Inquirer reported. Critics on a national business TV show compared it to the lending that led to the 2008 crisis, and a Drexel economist told Axios that more homeownership isn't a good thing if it simply raises foreclosures later, according to the Inquirer.

What our records add

The mortgage program does not have its own Council bill in our records. It runs through the H.O.M.E. plan, which Council has voted on several times:

• The bonds. Bill 250568 approved the service agreement with the Philadelphia Redevelopment Authority that finances the plan. Council President Kenyatta Johnson and Katherine Gilmore Richardson sponsored it. It passed 16-0 on June 12, 2025 (meeting record), and was signed the next day.
• The amendment. Bill 251065, from Johnson and Jamie Gauthier, changed that agreement. It passed 17-0 on Jan. 22, 2026 (meeting record). The Inquirer reported that negotiations with Council over how to spend the bond money were one cause of the plan's slow start.
• The spending. The controller reported Oct. 27 that $38 million of the first $278 million had been spent, and only four of 29 programs had money moving by Sept. 30 (our story). The administration says it will spend the rest by June.
• The hearings. Council adopted Resolution 260934 on Oct. 29. It sends the H.O.M.E. plan to the Finance Committee for hearings. Kendra Brooks introduced it with eight co-sponsors: Anthony Phillips, Isaiah Thomas, Jeffery Young Jr., Jim Harrity, Gilmore Richardson, Mike Driscoll, Nicolas O'Rourke and Quetcy Lozada. Our story.

What's next

• Launch. The administration's target is the end of 2026. Terms, including the interest rate, have not been published.
• Hearings. No Finance Committee date has been set. It is not on our meetings calendar for November.
• Next session. Council meets Nov. 12.