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THE CITY OF Housing Commission <br />.w. Agenda Report <br />P. LEASANTON May 16, Item em 6 <br />6 <br />SUBJECT Overview of the Alameda County Down Payment Assistance Program <br />(AC Boost) and Informational Review and Discussion of Pleasanton's <br />Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program <br />RECOMMENDATION <br />This item is for the Commission's information only; no action is required. <br />BACKGROUND <br />Pleasanton has maintained a Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program to assist first time <br />homebuyers with obtaining home ownership since 2003. There is currently a total of fifty (50) <br />homeowners who have a down payment assistance loan from the City. Of these loan <br />borrowers, forty-six (46) reside in and own Below Market Rate (BMR) homeownership units, <br />while the remaining four (4) own un -restricted, market -rate units. <br />The purpose of the DPA Program is to provide low and deferred interest mortgages that <br />supplement bank financing to assist low- (80% AMI) and moderate -income (120% AMI) <br />households purchase homes in Pleasanton. The program, which is directed to first time <br />homebuyers, is seen as an important addition to the City's other main home ownership effort <br />which includes providing BMR homeownership units. <br />While the DPA Program has seen its funding sources, which has included the California <br />Housing Financing Agency (CaIHFA) "Housing Enabled by Local Partnerships" (HELP) <br />program, the federal HOME Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), and the City's Lower <br />Income Housing Fund (LIHF), change since 2003, it continues to be fully funded should <br />potential first time homebuyers contact the City to request down payment assistance loans. <br />However, as the market housing prices in Pleasanton, and in the Bay Area overall, continue to <br />experience sustained periods of significant increases particularly as the housing market <br />rebounded beginning in 2012 from the 2008 Global Financial Crisis, the City's DPA Program <br />has been rarely used in recent years. Only one (1) DPA loan has been issued since 2015. <br />DISCUSSION <br />Pleasanton's Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Program currently provides up to $20,000 in <br />down payment assistance for low- and moderate -income buyers. Assistance is in the form of a <br />low-interest (3.5%) loan that is amortized over 20 years. <br />Page - 1 - <br />