14,000 apply for California’s housing down payment program

Expecting to lend funds to 1,500 to 3,000 applicants, the program’s third round could be its last.

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The California Housing Finance Agency is finalizing between 1,500 and 3,000 Dream for All mortgage assistance awards out of an applicant pool of 14,000.

The program counted 4,000 fewer applicants than when it last rolled out in 2024. The third program phase is lending a maximum of $150,000 or up to 20% of a home’s purchase price to selected, first-time homebuyers when they enter escrow. Between $150 and $200 million has been set aside for this round.

CalHFA anticipates it will notify recipients in the next six months over their loan approval. Recipients will then have 90 days to use their voucher on a home purchase, or request a 90-day extension. A second lottery of waitlisted applicants will then cycle through available vouchers.

The program, which first launched in March 2023, was intended to boost first-generation homebuyers’ access to California’s high-cost housing market. Backers had hoped it would especially benefit Black and Latino communities that have experienced housing discrimination, often called redlining, or low homeownership rates.

See more: First-gen California homebuyers can soon apply for $150,000 down payment loans

The state will recover a recipient’s down payment as well as a proportionate share of home appreciation when they sell their house. This structure is what program leaders hope will sustain the program in future years.

California’s pending 2026-2027 budget, last revised May 14, did not include the program in its budget, said Eric Johnson, public information officer of CalHFA.

In 2022, the state budget earmarked $500 million for the program, which was rolled out in two phases. The first was wildly popular first-come, first-served rollout in 2023 when a budgeted $300 million was snatched up in just 11 days.

The second phase updated its program with a lottery selection process and the requirement that at least one member of an application be a first-generation homebuyer. With a $200 million budget, 2,800 Californians were selected from a pool of 18,000 applicants.

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