California home-down-payment program makes $150K available to some first-timers

For many San Diegans, especially young ones, the dream of owning a home feels unattainable. 

“All the houses in the area that I want to stay in are way out of my budget,” said Maria Garcia, a Spring Valley resident. “Even the smallest house is like $1 million.”

Garcia has been saving for four years, hoping to give her little girls a yard to play in.

“It's stressful,” Garcia said. “I feel like my dream just gets further and further away.”

No matter how much Garcia saves, she still finds herself priced out of the market.

“Then you have all the other things going up with inflation; gas prices, food prices,” Garcia said.

Garcia isn't the only one who feels that way.

“I’m trying to save up, but even the amount of money that I think is a lot still is not enough to cover the down payment,” San Diegan Helen Garcia (no relation to Maria) told NBC 7.

Helen, a highly skilled nurse, said she has no other choice but to live at home to try and save.

“All of us are living with our parents right now, just trying to save up,” Helen said. “That's the plan right now.”

The state of California has another solution: The highly popular Dreams for All program, which will allocate $250 million in down payment assistance to first-time buyers. 

“So what the Dream for All program does is it gives you a loan of up to 20% of the purchase price to buy the home,” said Eric Johnson, spokesperson for the California Housing Finance Agency. “In exchange, when you sell the home, you pay back to the state of California about 20% of the amount that the home has appreciated or gone up in price”

The program, now in its second year, had a $300 million budget last year, Johnson said that was claimed in just 11 days.

“People want to have their slice of that American dream, and we're doing all we can to help out with that,” Johnson said.

There are some changes to note this year: First of all, the program will be limited to a first-generation homebuyer; meaning somebody who has never owned a home and whose parents aren’t homeowners.

“So many people can get into a home because their parents can help with the down-payment assistance or they have some equity in somebody else's home, that sort of thing,” Johnson said. “We want to make sure that more people have the opportunity to purchase a home in California.”

Also new this year: Recipients will be chosen by a lottery drawing, with somewhere between 1,700-2,000 selected, each eligible for a maximum loan of $150,000.

Both Maria and Helen say they’re considering Dream for All, recognizing it could bring them closer to achieving their American dream.

“I came from immigrant parents, and growing up it was always like moving from different cities because everything was so expensive, so I want to leave something for my kids so they don't have to struggle like I did,” Maria said.

Homebuyers have until April to submit their applications for the lottery. Loan vouchers will be awarded in May. More information here.