National Programs Help Lower-Income Buyers Afford Florida Home Loans
As the difficulty of affording a home in Florida grows stronger, many steps are being taken to alleviate the problem. For example, a national campaign that seeks to bring home ownership within reach for low-income and moderate-income families has generated more than $5.39 billion in new mortgage lending from Jan. 1, 2003, to March 31, 2006.
Since 1993, the campaign has assisted more than 100,000 families become homeowners, according to an announcement by NeighborWorks America, which supports a national network of about 4,500 communities. This means that you may be able to qualify for a Florida home loan, despite recent financial difficulty or high property values.
“The NeighborWorks Campaign for Homeownership has demonstrated that home ownership is not out of reach for low- and moderate-income families, many of whom are first-time home buyers,” said Ken Wade, CEO of NeighborWorks America, in a statement.
Main Florida mortgage loan targets
The campaign has targeted minority households, which lag behind whites in home ownership, according to the announcement. About 22 percent of the campaign’s recent home buyers are African-American.
Data provided by the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act indicate that about 6 percent of national and/or Florida mortgage loans issued by the conventional market in 2003 (the most recent year for which data is available) served African American buyers. Moreover, 24 percent of the campaign’s recent borrowers were Hispanic, compared with 10 percent of loans within the conventional market in 2003.
So, just how affordable are houses under these programs? The Urban Edge Housing Corp., a NeighborWorks network member in Boston, assisted 336 new homeowners, resulting in more than $101 million of mortgage lending. The average home purchased cost slightly more than $187,000 and carried an average mortgage payment of nearly $1,961.
In comparison, the average dollar amount of mortgage loans issued to all Boston Metropolitan Area borrowers in 2003 was nearly $270,000, according to Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data.
Whether it’s a national or local program or piece of legislation, the important bottom line remains the same: affordable housing in South Florida and other regions is an area of focus and, hopefully, improvement.
