Mayor Ken Welch Wants To Increase Access To Affordable Housing, Improved Loan Program

ST. PETERSBURG, FL —The city of St. Petersburg is increasing the amount of down payment assistance available to first-time homebuyers in the city.

The down payment assistance is being increased from $40,000 to $60,000 depending on household income and whether the home they are buying is located within the South St. Pete CRA. Buyers earning at or below 80 percent of area median income (AMI) are currently required to payback half the assistance, while those earning above 80 percent AMI must repay the full assistance, a news release said.

The change the city is making with paying back the loan is allowing full forgiveness on the assistance for those earning at or below 80 percent AMI after 10 years of continued occupancy in the home. Those earning above 80 percent AMI would receive half-forgiveness on the assistance after 10 years of continued occupancy, according to city staff.

Another goal the city has for South St. Pete residents is increasing its current homeowner rehabilitation assistance program's maximum $45,000 to $60,000 for households in the extremely low-income to moderate-income range. Full forgiveness will be provided for the assistance to households earning at or below 80 percent AMI following 10 years of occupancy.

“Increasing access to affordable and workforce housing is a top priority in my administration," Mayor Ken Welch said. "These changes will allow prospective home buyers to access additional assistance becoming first-time homeowners and existing homeowners to access needed assistance improving their homes. The changes will also incentivize developers to build attainable housing for essential employees such as teachers, nurses, firefighters and police officers who might otherwise have difficulty finding affordable housing in today’s market."

Due to increases in land values and the difficulty that has presented with acquiring single-family lots to construct new, affordable single-family homes, the city is expanding its assistance for developers who will construct affordable single-family homes within the South St. Petersburg CRA. A current incentive offers a direct $10,000 incentive for a developer who constructs and sells a new home in the area to a buyer at or below 120 percent AMI. The city is adding to its incentives a reimbursement for up to half the land acquisition cost up to $40,000 if the developer sells the new single-family home to a buyer at or below 80 percent AMI.

The city is also increasing its standard incentive from $10,000 to $15,000, with the existing 120 percent AMI threshold still in place if the buyer was already a resident renter within the CRA.