Winter 2025

Washington REALTORS announced on January 7, 2026 that its REALTORS + Housing Program is expanding for the 2026 program year. The program connects first-time homebuyers, low- and moderate-income buyers, and essential workers with vetted down-payment assistance options, qualified lender partners, and REALTORS who have completed the program's specialized training. The 2026 expansion adds program partners in additional Washington counties and updates the underlying training curriculum.

For brokers, the practical opportunity is two-sided. Listing-side, qualifying first-time-buyer programs widens the buyer pool for moderately priced inventory — the segment that has been demand-thin since the 2022 rate run-up. Buyer-side, brokers who complete the training can offer clients a curated, jurisdiction-specific menu of assistance products, which materially shortens the financing-research phase for first-time buyers and reduces the deal-killing surprises that crop up during loan underwriting.

The 2026 expansion arrives alongside Washington's Homes for Heroes bill (SHB 1022) from the 2025 legislative session, which directed additional state funding into down-payment assistance for firefighters, nurses, teachers, and other essential workers. Brokers wanting to be on the program's listing of qualified agents should follow Washington REALTORS' onboarding through the official program announcement; the umbrella Government Affairs page tracks the legislative wins that fund it.