New Program Offers Loan Forgiveness To First-Time Bay Area Homebuyers

By Shawn Chitnis, CBS San Francisco

May 3, 2022

There’s good news for first-time homebuyers trying to break into the competitive Bay Area housing market. They now have another tool to help cover the cost of down payments and closing costs if they can commit to staying in their new neighborhood for five years.

The Forgivable Equity Builder Loan from CalHFA allows a new buyer to get up to 10 percent of the property price covered for their first home if they qualify based on the Area Median Income of the county where they plan to move. For most of the Bay Area, 80 percent of the AMI in local counties is $106,880, and in Santa Clara County, the figure is $118,960.

“Homeownership is one of the best ways to build intergenerational wealth, there is a big wealth gap between different groups especially in California,” said Eric Johnson, a spokesperson with the California Housing Finance Agency. “In a lot of cases, the rent they’re paying, with today’s interest rates, is actually is higher than their mortage payment would be for an equivalent space.”

CBS Local Digital Media personalizes the global reach of CBS-owned and operated television and radio stations with a local perspective.