Dealing with Down Payment Assistance (DPA) Basis

October 15, 2025

Owning a home is a wealth creator and cost stabilizer. No matter which income bracket you fall into, the ability to own a home presents an opportunity to have long term wealth for your family and ensures your monthly expenses are closer to “known”. As households look to purchase a home, many rely on assistance from family, friends and/or government programs. In an article from the Journal of Consumer Affairs, “the lack of sufficient savings for a down payment makes it difficult to qualify for a mortgage in today’s market,” said Susan Wachter, a real estate professor at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. 1 in 3 first-time home buyers need family help on the down payment and 3 in 10 needs help from the federal government assistance.

So, what does this mean for low to moderate income households that may not have the ability to rely on family or friends to assist with the down payment? Down payment assistance programs are lifelines for this population. However, there is no disagreement over the fact that a purchase offer including down payment assistance information is viewed negatively by some in the real estate industry. It may start with the listing agent. It may originate with the property seller. Either way, it is common for an offer involving down payment assistance to be viewed as a less than quality offer by those entertaining it.

This is an inaccurate conclusion and has adverse ramifications. It reduces the ability of many otherwise eligible households from being able to buy a home. A well-informed real estate agent and mortgage loan originator knows this. And more importantly, they know how to impart this knowledge to property sellers. Thereby, eliminating the potential for a fair housing violation in the process of selling a home. And improve our collective effort to address the housing crisis by helping more people become homeowners.

As noted in the recently published report by the National Housing Crisis Task Force; “The current Administration and Congress may carry out the most sweeping restructuring of federal housing policy in decades.” Additionally, the report states; “The end result of these actions would be to devolve to states and localities, and private and civic stakeholders, greater responsibility for expanding the supply of housing, boosting homeownership and helping low- and moderate-income households afford and access quality rental housing.” The report goes on to say; “This would amount to the greatest change in the U.S. housing ecosystem since the 1930s.” Good practice is to periodically review your program to ensure you’re reaching your goals on a continual basis and if not, determine what barriers might be contributing to this. From there, build a path forward to remove those obstacles, such as building relationships with your realtor community and creating more positive messages in the community about the positive impacts it has on the households it services and the community overall.

We can help with this dilemma states and localities face regarding their DPA program as one of the many required tools to address the housing crisis. We are here to work with you to complete a program assessment, market assessment and develop actionable recommendations to support measurable and sustainable improvements in the impact of your DPA program.

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