A Regional Approach to Administration of First-Time Home Buyer Programs

About the Program

Category: Human Services (Best in Category)

Year: 2015

Buying your first home is a huge accomplishment. Aside from personal financial benefits associated with homeownership, several studies support the positive effects on the well-being of children within families owning a home and homeownership benefits to society in general. Despite the benefits, buying a home can be stressful. For low-income individuals and families, getting over the hurdle of down payment and closing costs can seem insurmountable. To assist these residents, jurisdictions within the San Diego region have been offering First-Time Homebuyer programs providing low-interest deferred payment loans for down payment and closing cost assistance. In December 2014, County of San Diego Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), the lead for the County of San Diego HOME Consortium (Consortium), broke the mold on the region’s existing homebuyer program model, which was administered by five agencies to residents purchasing a home in the unincorporated County or one of 10 cities. HCD implemented a new regional model that provides a one-stop-shop for homebuyers, expands eligible jurisdictions to 12 cities, and reduces program delivery costs by 45 percent. In the last three months alone, this new regional collaboration has provided 23 percent more loans than in any of the previous four fiscal years.