Georgia Dream loan programs are four 30-year fixed first mortgages from the state Department of Community Affairs: Georgia Dream Standard, Peach Plus, Peach Select VA, and Peach Advantage. Three gates decide which one you can use — whether you have owned a home in the last three years, what your household earns, and what loan type you are using.
Look at the rate sheet in isolation and it reads like a puzzle. The sheet effective September 3, 2026 at 5:00 PM put Georgia Dream Standard at 5.875%, Peach Select VA at 4.875%, and Peach Plus at 6.375%. Peach Advantage prices off a daily sheet, with rate locks closing at 9:00 PM ET. All four are 30-year fixed.
For scale: Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the week of September 3, 2026 had the 30-year fixed at 6.71% and the 15-year at 6.04%. So Standard sits roughly 0.84 percentage points under the national average, and Peach Select VA sits roughly 1.84 under.
You don't pick a Georgia Dream product by rate
This is the part that trips people up. These are not four offers you shop against each other. They are four doors with different locks, and in most cases only one or two of them will open for you. Work through the gates in this order:
-
Have you owned a primary residence in the last three years? If yes, Georgia Dream Standard is closed to you (with a narrow exception for DCA-designated targeted areas).
-
What does your household earn? The income caps vary by product and by region, and they range from $101,700 to well over $200,000.
-
What loan type are you using? Standard runs FHA/VA/USDA. Peach Plus is FHA and VA only. Peach Select is VA only. Peach Advantage is conventional only.
Rate is the output of that sort, not the input.
Georgia Dream Standard: the cheapest bond loan, the tightest door
At 5.875%, Georgia Dream Standard is the best-priced product most Georgia buyers will realistically touch. The trade is eligibility.
You need to be a first-time buyer, or have had no ownership interest in a primary residence for the past three years. Buyers purchasing in a DCA-designated targeted area are exempt from the first-time rule, but they may not own or be on title to any other real estate at closing.
The caps are regional:
-
Atlanta MSA: $625,000 sales price; $137,555 income for 1–2 people, $158,188 for 3 or more
-
Athens MSA: $525,000; $118,152 / $135,875
-
All other Georgia counties: $475,000; $101,700 / $116,955
There is also a liquid-asset test that surprises people: your liquid assets at closing may not exceed $20,000 or 20% of the sales price, whichever is greater. If you have been saving hard for years, run this by a lender early.
Down payment assistance on Standard comes in three tiers, effective February 8, 2024:
-
Standard: 5% of the purchase price or $10,000, whichever is less
-
PEN (public safety, teachers and school staff, health care workers, active military): 6% or $12,500
-
CHOICE (a household member with a disability): 6% or $12,500
Peach Plus: for buyers who already own, or earn too much
Peach Plus drops the first-time-buyer requirement entirely and roughly doubles the income ceilings. It is FHA and VA only.
-
Atlanta MSA: $725,000 sales price; $206,333 income for 1–2 people, $237,282 for 3 or more
-
Athens MSA: $650,000; $177,228 / $203,813
-
All other counties: $575,000; $152,550 / $175,433
Two costs come with that flexibility. First, the rate: 6.375% instead of 5.875%, a half point. Second, smaller assistance — 3.5% of the purchase price or $10,000 (whichever is less) at the standard tier, or 4% or $12,500 under PEN and CHOICE.
Here is what the half point costs in practice. On a $300,000 purchase with 3.5% down and FHA upfront mortgage insurance financed — about a $294,566 loan — principal and interest run roughly $1,742 a month at 5.875% and roughly $1,838 at 6.375%. That is about $95 a month, or roughly $1,143 a year, for as long as you hold the loan. That is the price of the higher ceilings, and it is worth knowing before you assume Peach Plus is a consolation prize. If Standard is closed to you, $95 a month is still buying you a rate well under the 6.71% market average, which on the same loan would run about $1,903.
Two operational notes: Peach Plus runs through a separate lender portal, and a borrower cannot apply for or receive benefits from another Georgia Dream program and Peach Plus at the same time.
Peach Select VA: the best rate on the sheet, and the catch
At 4.875%, Peach Select VA is the outlier — nearly two full points under the national 30-year average. It has been available since March 15, 2024, and it is open to first-time and repeat buyers who would qualify for a traditional Georgia Dream VA loan. Income and sales-price caps match Georgia Dream Standard by region.
The catch: there is no DCA down payment assistance with Peach Select VA. The minimum borrower investment is $500 rather than the usual $1,000, but the state is not putting a second lien behind you.
So the veteran's question is a real one: is a rate a point lower worth more than $10,000 in deferred help? On a $300,000 loan, a full percentage point off the rate is worth far more than $10,000 over the life of the loan — but only if you can cover the cash to close without it. VA's zero-down structure makes that more achievable than it would be on FHA. And per DCA's lender FAQ, Peach Select can be stacked with another eligible outside down payment assistance program, so it is worth asking your lender what local or employer DPA you could pair with it.
Peach Advantage: the conventional lane
Peach Advantage launched July 1, 2025, sponsored exclusively with Lakeview Loan Servicing, LLC. It is conventional-only and open to both first-time and repeat buyers.
Its income limit is 150% of Area Median Income — the widest of the four — with sales price caps of $725,000 in metro Atlanta, $650,000 in the Athens MSA, and $575,000 elsewhere. (DCA's July 2025 launch release listed lower caps of $650,000/$575,000/$500,000, so these have been raised since launch — another reason to confirm current figures with a lender rather than an old article.)
Assistance runs 2% to 5% of the first lien amount, with maximum combined loan-to-value of 105%. There is also a 0% DPA option paired with a reduced first-mortgage rate, which is worth pricing if you have your own down payment and would rather buy down the note. Households at or below 80% AMI get reduced mortgage insurance.
Peach Advantage prices off a daily rate sheet with locks closing at 9:00 PM ET, so there is no single number to quote — ask your lender for today's sheet. Lenders must be approved by both DCA and Lakeview.
What the assistance actually costs you later
This is the section most buyers skip, and it is the one that changes decisions.
Every DCA down payment assistance second is a 0%-interest lien with no monthly payment. That sounds like free money, and month to month it behaves like it. But it is deferred, not forgiven. There is no forgiveness schedule. Nothing burns off after five years or ten. The full amount comes due when you sell, refinance, pay off the first mortgage, or stop occupying the home as your primary residence. Peach Advantage's second is structured as a 30-year deferred, repayable lien.
Concretely: take $10,000 of Georgia Dream assistance, sell in six years, and $10,000 comes out of your proceeds at the closing table on top of agent commissions and transfer costs.
The refinance trigger matters more than the sale trigger for planning. If rates fall and you want to refinance in two or three years, you will need to repay the assistance in full at that point — which means the refi has to pencil out including that $10,000, or you have to leave the assistance in place and stay in the higher-rate first mortgage. Ask your lender to walk that scenario before you sign, not after.
One more item to raise with your lender: DCA's lender FAQ notes that programs may carry an IRS recapture tax for nine years from the closing date. That is a mortgage-revenue-bond feature, and Peach Advantage is described as a non-bond conventional program. Rather than assume, ask directly: is the product I'm in subject to federal recapture, and under what conditions would I owe it?
The four products side by side
| Product | Rate (9/3/2026 sheet) | Loan types | First-time buyer required? | Down payment assistance | Income cap (Atlanta / Athens / rest of state, 1–2 people) | Sales price cap | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Georgia Dream Standard | 5.875% | FHA, VA, USDA | Yes (or no ownership in 3 years; targeted-area exception) | 5% or $10,000; 6% or $12,500 under PEN/CHOICE | $137,555 / $118,152 / $101,700 | $625,000 / $525,000 / $475,000 | | Peach Plus | 6.375% | FHA, VA | No | 3.5% or $10,000; 4% or $12,500 under PEN/CHOICE | $206,333 / $177,228 / $152,550 | $725,000 / $650,000 / $575,000 | | Peach Select VA | 4.875% | VA only | No | None from DCA (outside DPA may be stacked) | $137,555 / $118,152 / $101,700 | $625,000 / $525,000 / $475,000 | | Peach Advantage | Daily sheet (locks close 9:00 PM ET) | Conventional only | No | 2%–5% of first lien, or 0% DPA with reduced rate | 150% of Area Median Income | $725,000 / $650,000 / $575,000 |
Income caps for households of three or more are higher across the board: $158,188 / $135,875 / $116,955 on Standard and Peach Select, and $237,282 / $203,813 / $175,433 on Peach Plus.
A short decision path
-
If you are a veteran, price Peach Select VA first. The rate advantage is large enough that it usually beats $10,000 in deferred assistance — but only if you can cover cash to close. Ask about stacking outside DPA.
-
If you have owned a home in the last three years, you are looking at Peach Plus (FHA/VA) or Peach Advantage (conventional). Which one depends on your credit and down payment, so get both quoted.
-
If you are under the Standard income caps and using FHA, Standard is almost always the cheaper loan — better rate and a larger assistance amount.
-
If you are over the Standard caps but under 150% AMI with good credit, run Peach Advantage against Peach Plus. The 0% DPA option with a reduced first-mortgage rate is easy to overlook.
Is the price cap or the income cap the real constraint?
Usually the income cap. The Georgia Association of REALTORS reported a statewide median sales price of $370,000 in July 2026, up about 2% year over year, with 55,469 units of inventory, 56 days on market, and 5.2 months of supply.
Against a $370,000 median, Standard's $475,000 cap outside Atlanta and Athens is not what stops most buyers. A dual-income household in, say, Macon or Columbus clearing $101,700 combined is a far more common disqualifier than a house priced over the cap. If you are close to the line, that is the number to model — and it is worth asking your lender exactly which income DCA counts.
What to line up this month
-
A 640 middle credit score. That is the floor across DCA loan programs (660 for manufactured homes under Peach Advantage).
-
Homebuyer education. Georgia Dream requires it — a housing counseling class, workshop, or one-on-one counseling through a HUD-approved agency, typically $50 to $100. Complete it before closing, not the week of.
-
Your own money in the deal. $1,000 minimum for Georgia Dream Standard and Peach Plus, $500 for Peach Select VA. Gifts may satisfy the requirement per agency guidelines.
-
A DCA participating lender. These products are only originated through DCA-approved participating lenders. DCA's line is 800-359-4663. Peach Advantage lenders must also be approved by Lakeview, and Peach Plus uses its own portal.
One last caution: the numbers above come from a specific rate sheet on a specific afternoon. DCA's rates change, and its caps have already been revised once since Peach Advantage launched. Pull the current rate page and confirm today's number with your lender before you lock anything.
Related reading
-
[Every Lender Can Now Pull a VantageScore 4.0. FICO Still Rules Georgia Dream.](/article/vantagescore-4-0-mortgage-georgia-dream-640-credit-score)
-
Should Georgia First-Time Buyers Keep Waiting for Lower Rates?
