Are you thinking about buying a home in the Chicago, IL area for the first time? You're in luck.

According to a recent report, Chicago-area home prices just dropped for the first time in more than a decade. It should make it possible for you to buy a house without having to break the bank.

We have more good news for you, too. There are a bunch of first-time home buyer programs you might be able to take advantage of when shopping for homes in Chicago. They might help you get your hands on the money you'll need to make buying Chicago real estate a possibility.

Here are a few first-time home buyer programs you should consider.

IHDAccess Repayable Program

The Illinois Housing Development Authority offers a number of different first-time home buyer programs that might be right for you. The IHDAccess Repayable Program is a great example of this.

If you choose to use this program, you'll be able to get access to up to $10,000 that can be used to put a downpayment on a home or pay closing costs. It'll be given to you in the form of a 10-year loan without any interest on it.

The IHDAccess Deferred and IHDAccess Forgivable first-time home buyer programs might also be worth exploring. They'll also provide you with money you can use to make a downpayment or close on a new house.

Home Ready Program

More often than not, you'll probably want to take the Illinois Housing Development Authority up on one of its offers to help you buy your first house. But there are also other first-time home buyer programs that would be worth considering.

The Home Ready Program is one of them. It'll allow you to take out a Fannie Mae conventional loan to buy a house while setting you up with downpayment assistance. You'll also be able to purchase your first home while putting down a downpayment that'll be as little as just 3% of the purchase price.

HomeOne Program

The HomeOne Program is yet another option that you'll have when it comes to first-time home buyer programs when buying a house in Chicago. Like the Home Ready Program, it'll put you in a position to put down a 3% downpayment while getting some downpayment assistance if you need it.

The big advantage of going with the HomeOne Program is that you won't need to have a certain credit score to get it. The credit qualification guidelines are about as flexible as it gets.

Take Advantage of First-Time Home Buyer Programs

Buying your home should be an exciting experience from beginning to end. But you might find that it'll be more stressful than you were expecting if you don't use one of the first-time home buyer programs listed here.

Make sure you consider each of these first-time home buyer programs and select the best one of the bunch. It'll make it so much more fun to shop around for homes in Chicago.

Browse through our blog for more first-time home buyer tips and tricks.