State Agency Provides Housing Assistance For Low-Moderate Income Buyers
ELK GROVE (CBS13) — For the first time in California history, the median home price now has hit an all-time high.
According to the California Association of Realtors, that median price has reached $600,000.
In response to the rise in prices, the California Housing Finance Agency (Cal-HFA) is trying to get the word out that it has expanded its housing assistance program to people with high earnings who feel priced out and never thought they'd qualify.
"What we are trying to do is help people with good jobs and solid credit buy their first home," said Eric Johnson of Cal-HFA.
Johnson says the current housing climate can steer people away.
"They often think if you're in the six figures range, 'I can't get any assistance, I make way too much money,' and that's not the case," Johnson said.
The agency says now more than ever it is set up to help low and moderate income earners.
Nicole Lewis and her husband never dreamed of becoming homeowners in this market. Lewis and her husband were like many renters in the state, renting for nearly nine years.
"I was thinking maybe we can rent for the next five years or so," Lewis said. "We didn't think it would be able to come true."
Jason Russell of Vitek Mortgage Group helped Lewis and her husband connect to the Cal-HFA, where the definition of moderate income has changed.
"It started at $60,000-$70,000 and they raised it to try and increase that umbrella to try to get more people to qualify for it and now it's up to $153,000 in our four-county area," Russell said.
The Cal-HFA program pays for the down payment and closing costs for clients who qualify.
While assistance is available across the state, different counties have different income limits. San Francisco can go as high as a $220,000 for the income limit, but the agency says most loans still go to people who make less than $100,000.
For Lewis and her husband, homeownership is a security they find reassuring.
"No one can tell me to leave, my rent won't go up, and I'm accruing equity," Lewis said.
The program is self-supporting, with no tax money taken from the state.
To learn more or see if you qualify, you can go to the agency's website Calhfa.ca.gov