Home-buying remains tough. An Atlanta agency is expanding its aid program.
Atlanta Housing, the city’s housing authority, wants to open up more opportunities for homebuyers.
Atlanta Housing President and CEO Terri Lee said Tuesday the agency would expand its down payment assistance program, raising the maximum award from $25,000 to $60,000 for certain, eligible homebuyers.
“When families in this city have stable housing, this city works better,” Lee said at the “State of Atlanta Housing” event held Tuesday. “When that housing is paired with a path to economic mobility, neighborhoods are stronger. Public resources go farther, and families regain the power to shape their own future.”
In Georgia, the median down payment is $50,000, according to March data from Bankrate.
At $60,000, a homebuyer could afford a 20% down payment on a $300,000 home.
While the average first-time buyer puts down about 10% on a new home, according to Bankrate, they could avoid paying for private mortgage insurance if they can reach a 20% down payment.
Atlanta Housing said its expanded down payment assistance program is targeted at participants in the Housing Choice Voucher Program, a rental assistance program formerly known as Section 8.
“They want to own their own units,” Lee said. “They want to build equity. They want to be able to pass something down to their children from a generational wealth perspective.”
Further requirements for the program are expected to be released in June, a spokesperson said. People who receive the assistance do not have to repay the money.
Atlanta Housing is seeking multiple funding mechanisms to support the program, but the spokesperson could not share additional details at this time.
Lee said she expects the program to free up housing vouchers for other families. The agency has a voucher waitlist of some 20,000 individuals, she said.
Atlanta Housing expands its program as housing affordability remains a major concern for the city and region.
In metro Atlanta, a homebuyer must make roughly $118,000 a year to afford a home at the median price of about $398,000 and spend no more than 30% of their income, according to March data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. The actual median household income is just under $97,000, the Fed says.
Atlanta Housing has had a down payment assistance program for at least 20 years, said a spokesperson.
In the last three years, the agency says it has supported almost 770 first-time homebuyers and provided about $17 million in direct assistance, along with $13 million from partners such as Invest Atlanta, the city’s economic development agency.
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