CommonWealth Builder (CWB)

The CommonWealth Builder (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.

• CWB Program Guidelines (revised November 2025)

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

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.

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