87% OF PROPERTIES QUALIFY FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE

REAL ESTATE NEWS

87% OF PROPERTIES QUALIFY FOR DOWN PAYMENT ASSISTANCE
Source: HousingWire

Joint analysis presented in a new report by RealtyTrac and Down Payment Resource has examined the availability of down payment programs across the country. Overall, it was found that 87 percent of U.S. homes qualify for down payment help.

Making sense of the story

• In examining 2,290 down payment programs from Down Payment Resource’s Homeownership Program Index, it was found that out of more than 78 million U.S. single-family homes and condos in 1,792 counties with sufficient home value data, more than 68 million (87 percent) would qualify for a down payment program available in the county.

• Rob Chrane, president and CEO of Down Payment Resource, commented, many homebuyers, especially millennials, haven’t fully investigated their home financing options because they are pessimistic about qualifying for a mortgage. Our Homeownership Program Index highlights the wide range and availability of down payment programs available to today’s homebuyers. In fact, 91 percent of the 2,290 programs in our registry have funds available to lend to eligible buyers.

• Among the 10 U.S. counties with the most homes qualifying for down payment help, Wayne County, Mich., in the Detroit metro area had the highest percentage of homes qualifying at 94.37 percent, followed by Dallas County and Harris County (Houston) in Texas, both with nearly 93 percent of homes qualifying, and Clark County, Nev., in the Las Vegas metro area with more than 92 percent of homes qualifying.

• Among these 10 counties, Los Angeles County had the lowest percentage of homes qualifying for down payment help with just over 78 percent, followed by Miami-Dade and Broward counties in Florida with 82 percent and 83 percent of homes qualifying, respectively.

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• Among counties with a population of at least 100,000, those with the highest percentage of homes qualifying for down payment assistance were counties in Mississippi, California, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Maryland, New York, Texas, Ohio, and Delaware.

• Daren Blomquist, vice president at RealtyTrac, commented, “Prospective buyers — or their agents — willing to put in a few minutes of time to find out what programs are available to them will put themselves in a much better position to successfully purchase a home.”

• The average amount of down payment assistance across all counties is $11,565. At least one down payment program is available in all 3,143 U.S. counties, and more than 2,000 counties have more than 10 down payment programs available to prospective homebuyers.