Owning a home in San Diego has become a luxury many can’t afford, especially for Black, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC).
On National Homeownership Month, the San Diego Housing Commission, through a new pilot program, will help more people of color become first-time home buyers with the help of grants and down-payment loans.
As said in a news release sent by SDHC by SDHC Vice Chair of the Board Ryan Clumpner, “This is a significant step in the right direction toward equity in homeownership in San Diego,” she said. “This pilot program will help families of color achieve the dream of homeownership that historically has been denied and out of reach for many of them. Homeownership also brings with it the opportunity to establish generational wealth that positively impacts families for years to come.”
The pilot program has two options for assistance, the first option is a $20,000 grant for a down payment and closing costs, and the second option is a $20,000 deferred loan toward a down payment and $20,000 toward closing costs, totaling $40,000 in total assistance.
As said in the news release, families who earn up to 150 percent of San Diego’s Area Median Income, which for a family of four is currently $175,200 per year, and have not owned a home in the past three years may be eligible for this pilot program.
To learn more about this topic, please visit https://www.sdhc.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/SDHC-Participating-Lender-List.pdf.
With this program in San Diego, the SDHC will try to help 5,000 people of color become homeowners by 2025.
Since 1998, through SDHC’s first-time homebuyer program, over 6,000 families have become homeowners. And in 2020, in the City of San Diego, 126 households became homeowners. Of those, 74% were Latino; 14% were White; 9% were Asian; 2% were Black; and 1% were multiracial.
