Overview:
Despite spiraling real estate prices the dream of home-ownership for 'first-generation' home buyers remains alive, and with CalHFA's California Dream for All program, home-ownership could be a reality for many.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Good news for aspiring first-time home buyers! The California Housing Finance Agency, CalHFA, is opening its doors once again to the California Dream for All shared appreciation loan program to help qualifying potential buyers in California meet down payment and/or closing costs on home mortgages. The program will open for enrolment on February 24th and close on March 16th, 2026.
With housing costs soaring to unaffordable levels in recent years, home-ownership in California’s major cities has long been a distant dream for those who wish to live within a commutable distance from their jobs. The Dream for All program gives immigrants and first-time home buyers from the underserved communities a chance for stability and security through home-ownership.
Eric Johnson, Information Officer, Marketing and Communications Division, Cal HFA, presented an overview of the program at an American Community Media (ACoM) briefing on January 29. “This is a program for first-generation homebuyers. One of the most important things for creating generational wealth is owning a home. And so many families, people of different races and ethnicities, have been essentially frozen out of home ownership in the United States and in California”, he said. The African American community is one of the worst suffering in this area, with the current homeownership rate less than it was in 1968, when the Fair Housing Act was first passed. “What we are trying to do with this program is make an incremental change”, he added.
How does it work?
How does the Dream for All program work, and who qualifies for it? The program is open to a “first-generation home buyer” where:
- The borrower has not owned a home in the last 7 years
- Parents do not currently own a home in the U.S. (or did not at the time of their death), or
- The borrower had been in a foster-care system at any time in the past.
- Additionally, any co-borrower on the loan must be a “first-time home-buyer,”, i.e., they have not owned a home in the last 3 years.
The program loans people up to 20% of the value of the home for that down payment. For instance, for a home with a purchase price of $500,000, Dream For All can loan the borrower up to $100,000, who then makes monthly mortgage payments on $400,000 instead of $500,000.
What is Shared Appreciation?
The terms of a shared appreciation loan are:
- a loan of up to 20% of the home’s value.
- The borrower does not make monthly payments on this 20%, but must pay back the original loan amount plus 20% of any profit (appreciation) when the home is sold or refinanced.
- The home must be the primary residence of the borrower.
To apply for the Dream for All lending program, a potential buyer has to work with one of the pre-approved CalHFA lenders and go through a pre-qualifying process. They must also complete an online shared appreciation education course and receive a certificate of completion.
“In California, there are thousands and thousands of people who have a good credit score, a steady job, and a steady income, but they haven’t been able to save up enough money for that down payment. That can be a fairly significant hurdle”, Johnson said.
How underserved communities can overcome challenges
Lack of funds for a down-payment on a home: Lacking funds for a down-payment on a home is the primary difficulty that most low-income, underserved aspiring first-generation home buyers face, irrespective of the community they belong to. Shonta Clark, a CalHFA program educator and lender, home counselor, and broker with New American Funding in Southern California, stressed the importance of down payment assistance. “If we can pay rent, why can’t we own a home? People don’t have the big down payment for it. CalHFA has made that possible. I just want to make sure that people understand and get excited about homeownership. There are homes and condos for the low-income market.”
Educating communities is the key: Imelda Manso, broker and owner of Premier One Realtors serving a primarily Latino market in Southern California, recounted her own humble beginnings as an immigrant child who witnessed the struggles her family went through with housing. “The Latino community is a demographic that continues to be underserved. In California, Latinos are a little over 55% of the total Latino population in the US population. They are also the youngest demographic, with an average age of 31.
“Educating the Latinos on what it is that it takes to become a homeowner is important, but educating the real estate practitioners is as important, making sure that they understand what programs are out there and can educate their clients.” Sharing the story of the Artiaga Sanchez family, who’ve been in the US for 30 years, Manso said, “I held their hand for about four and a half years, preparing them for buying a house, showing how to build credit, pay down their debt, and save money for the down payment.”
Language barriers: Willie Lee, Home Ownership Program Director at the Shalom Center in Los Angeles, spoke about the challenges faced by the Korean community. “Home ownership for the Korean Community is about stability, security, and the opportunity to build generational wealth. Yet despite a strong work ethic and financial responsibility, many families remain locked out of the housing market.” For many first generation Asians buyers, he said, understanding the U.S. Mortgage system, concepts like credit scores, DTI ratios, escrow, or shared appreciation loans can feel overwhelming. “The language barrier is very significant, even for buyers who speak conversational English. And when people don’t fully understand the documents, they hesitate and often just delay buying altogether.”
Counseling: Clark recommends potential buyers start by getting counseling for home ownership from a reliable agency like a lending firm, a broker, or even a community service organization like the local church. “To start with, visit the HUD website and look up HUD-approved organizations. To increase home buying in the Asian community, programs must be accessible and trusted.”
Lee added, “Increasing home ownership requires more than a single solution. Families need down payment assistance, education and counseling, language access, trusted guidance, and awareness of programs like CalHFA’s Dream For All. So when these elements come together, home ownership becomes achievable and sustainable.”