Buying as a Resident or Fellow in Pennsylvania
Program and regulatory figures verified October 6, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
On a resident's income, buying is a genuinely close call. In Pennsylvania it is closer to sensible than in most states, for reasons that have nothing to do with the loan.
Can a resident actually use this?
Yes. Residents and fellows are eligible designations, alongside MD, DO, DDS, DMD, DPM, OD, PharmD, DVM and CRNA. The program is built on the expectation that your income rises sharply after training.
What makes it work in practice is the student-debt treatment: your documented income-driven payment rather than 1% of the balance under Fannie Mae B3-6-05. On a resident's salary, that formula is the difference between eligible and not.
★ Why Pennsylvania makes this more realistic
Because the houses are cheap relative to almost anywhere a resident might train. Typical values for the month ending 31 August 2026:
| Metro | Typical value | Year over year |
|---|---|---|
| Pittsburgh | $232,122 | +0.2% |
| Scranton | $235,727 | +2.1% |
| Erie | $226,103 | +5.4% |
| Harrisburg | $311,783 | +2.9% |
| Philadelphia | $389,524 | +2.5% |
| US benchmark | $368,697 | +1.2% |
A resident in Pittsburgh is looking at a typical house about 37% below the national benchmark. That is a different conversation from a resident in a coastal market.
★★ The catch is cash, and the loan does not fix it
100% financing solves the down payment. It does not produce the realty transfer tax, which is due at recording.
In Philadelphia that is 4.578% of the price: roughly $8,917 on the city's typical home at the customary even split, and the City notes that the split is custom rather than law. Outside Philadelphia it is the Commonwealth's 1% plus a local rate that varies and that we will not guess at.
On a resident's income, finding that cash is the real question. Ask it before you start looking, not after. The numbers.
How long will you be there?
Worth thinking about honestly. Residency is a defined period, and Pennsylvania's markets rose modestly: Pittsburgh essentially flat at +0.2%, Philadelphia +2.5%.
At 100% financing you start with $0 of equity, so over a three-year residency in a flat market your equity is mostly what you have paid down, less the cost of selling. Over a longer fellowship-plus-attending stay in the same city, the arithmetic looks better.
We will not tell you buying is obviously right. We will run the numbers both ways. Market detail.
★ One thing not to do
Do not refinance or consolidate your student loans to make the application look cleaner. The physician program already uses your documented payment, so it buys you nothing, and it can permanently disqualify those loans from Pennsylvania's loan repayment program, which pays up to $80,000 later in your career.
Loans consolidated with a spouse's or parent's are ineligible outright. Anything mixed with a credit card balance or a personal line of credit is spoiled. The rule, quoted from the RFA.
And one thing to keep in view
Pennsylvania's loan repayment program requires you to be practising at an approved outpatient primary care site at the time of application, so it is not something you apply to during residency in a hospital program. It is something to protect your eligibility for.
If you expect to end up in community primary care in one of the six eligible specialties, keep your loans clean and your documentation. Eligibility.
What to do now
Send us your contract or your program letter, your servicer documentation, and the city you are looking in. We will tell you what the file supports and what cash you need, including the tax. (480) 296-6513.
Frequently asked questions
Can medical residents get a physician loan in Pennsylvania?
Yes. Residents and fellows are eligible designations under the program. The feature that makes it workable on a resident's income is that student debt is counted on the documented income-driven payment rather than 1% of the outstanding balance, which is what Fannie Mae B3-6-05 allows.Should a resident buy a house in Pennsylvania?
It is a closer call than in most states because prices are low. Pittsburgh's typical home value was $232,122 and Scranton's $235,727, against a national benchmark of $368,697. The honest counterweights are that 100% financing starts you with no equity, Pittsburgh grew just 0.2% over the year, and residency is a defined period, so selling costs matter.What cash does a resident need to close in Pennsylvania?
Not a down payment, if using 100% financing, but realty transfer tax is cash due at recording. In Philadelphia that is 4.578% of the price, roughly $8,917 on the city's typical home at the customary even split. Elsewhere in Pennsylvania the Commonwealth's 1% applies plus a local rate that varies by jurisdiction.Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or licensure advice. Physician-loan program terms, eligible degrees, and overlays are set by the lender and change. Pennsylvania Primary Care Loan Repayment Program award amounts, eligibility and application cycles are set by the Pennsylvania Department of Health and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against the Department's published RFA and Fact Sheet. Realty transfer tax rates are set by the Commonwealth and by local jurisdictions and change. All loans are subject to borrower and property qualification, including credit and income review.