The California Dream for All program, a loan application for first-time home buyers, will allocate $250 million its second annual round beginning on April 3.
According to a KQED report, last year’s inaugural cohort allocated roughly $300 million of funding within 11 days of its launch. This year’s initiative is expecting to between assist between 1,600 and 2,000 new applicants.
Under the terms of the program — officially called the California Dream for All Shared Appreciation Loan — the state puts down up to 20% of the cost of the home, or up to $150,000. The funds get repaid without interest when the borrower sells the home – along with 20% of any appreciation on the home’s value. Thus, a $600,000 home that is sold 10 years later for $700,000 would result in the borrower paying back the initial $120,000 down payment plus an additional $20,000.
“Basically, in return for an investment from the state into your down payment, when you sell the home, you should share that appreciation with the state,” said Adam Briones, CEO of California Community Builders, a nonprofit housing research and advocacy organization that helped design the program.
The program was conceived to help bridge California’s racial gap in homeownership, but last year’s program didn’t quite hit the mark as hoped – only 3% of the 2023 grantees were Black, while 19% were Asian Americans, 33% were Hispanic and 35% where White.
