First-Generation Fund bill advancing; Best Practices unveiled; $1 million awarded for SPCP creation
Less than two weeks into the new year, 2023 is already shaping up to yield measurable progress in the area of down payment assistance aimed at addressing our state’s racial homeownership gap.
Our joint First-Generation Homebuyers Down Payment Assistance Fund proposal with Twin Cities Habitat for Humanity and Minnesota Realtors® has been reintroduced into both the Minnesota House and Senate, and prospects for movement this year are promising. (This was mentioned recently in a KSTP 5 Eyewitness News piece.)
We’ve unveiled a slate of Down Payment Assistance Best Practices for Program Administration in consultation with a working advisory group of city and county officials, lenders, Realtors® and housing nonprofits.
And our joint proposal with Twin Cities Habitat to scale up a regional Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP) for Black homebuyers just received $1 million in enabling funding from Fannie Mae®’s Sustainable Communities Innovation Challenge. (This was mentioned recently in a Sahan Journal article.)
All of this movement is the culmination of several years of work toward making down payment assistance a more effective tool in the fight to reduce the racial homeownership gap.
We look forward to updating you on the status of each of these initiatives as the year progresses!