CommonWealth Builder (CWB)
MassHousing, in partnership with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities (EOHLC), is pleased to announce the 2025 CommonWealth Builder (CWB) Program funding round.
The CWB initiative represents a major effort to make homeownership more accessible while creating pathways for wealth building. As the largest program of its kind at the state level, CWB provides market-based subsidies that help finance the construction of new, moderately priced single-family homes and condominium units in Massachusetts.
A total of $25 million is available to eligible applicants in the 2025 funding round. For more information, please see the following resources:
- CWB Notice of Funding Availability, November 2025
- CWB Program Guidelines (revised November 2025)
Application Process
- Interested parties may attend a virtual Application Information Session on Tuesday, November 18 at 2 p.m. or Wednesday, November 19 at 11 a.m. Sign up for an Information Session.
- Interested parties must complete the CWB Pre-Application Form (open now).
- MassHousing staff will review pre-applications for readiness threshold requirements identified in the CWB Guidelines Application Evaluation Criteria. Developers with projects that meet all required readiness criteria will be invited to make a full application submission.
- MassHousing will provide access to a secure online portal to developers with the application invitation to upload and submit materials.
- Applicants must submit all application materials no later than January 16, 2026 at 5 p.m. EST.
Questions about the CommonWealth Builder program? Email us at CWB@masshousing.com!
Who can apply?
The project team (the "Sponsor") must meet the following requirements:
- Have a history of developing at least one homeownership project of similar scale
- Be in good standing with MassHousing and other state agencies
- Demonstrate financial capacity, including, but not limited to, a track record of securing financing for comparable developments, and
- Include staff or contractor with substantial and successful experience in managing all Affirmative Fair Housing Marketing Plan requirements
How can CWB funds be used?
CommonWealth Builder funds can be used to help build affordable single-family homes and condominium units for first-time homebuyers in historically underserved communities. They can also be applied to eligible development costs that promote and maintain affordable homeownership opportunities.
What projects are eligible?
To qualify, projects must create net new housing units – either through new construction or adaptive reuse – and must include a minimum of 10 deed-restricted affordable homeownership units located in one of the following areas:
- Boston
- Gateway Cities: Attleboro, Barnstable, Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Leominster, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, Methuen, New Bedford, Peabody, Pittsfield, Quincy, Revere, Salem, Springfield, Taunton, Westfield, Worcester
- Disproportionately Impacted Communities: Framingham, Randolph
- Qualified Census Tracts in other cities and towns
How to Apply
Interested applicants must complete the CommonWealth Builder Pre-Application Form. MassHousing staff will review responses to the pre-application form for threshold requirements identified in the CWB Guidelines. Eligible applicants will be sent an invitation to a secure online portal where they may create a username and password and upload application materials.
Access to the application portal opens December 12, 2025 and closes January 16, 2026, at 5 p.m. EST.