The city of Charlotte is expanding an aid program to help first-time buyers find homes in an increasingly difficult market.
House Charlotte, a city program tailored to help low-to-middle-income families through the process of buying a home, announced this week it will offer up to $30,000 in loan options to buyers making 80% or below the area median income. In Charlotte, 80% of the area median income is $75,350 for a four-person family, according to the House Charlotte website. Different amounts of assistance are available for families making up to 110% of the area median income.
The new maximum of $30,000 in loans is an increase from the previous cap of $17,000. To further help prospective buyers succeed in their search, the program’s maximum purchase price on existing properties will increase from $285,000 to $300,000.
Warren Wooten, city of Charlotte assistant director of affordable housing, said the program changes are an acknowledgment from the city of how difficult it is for first-time buyers to find a home in the Charlotte area.
“What you’re seeing is the city responding to the economy. Housing prices have gone up dramatically over the last several years, and so home buyers, especially lower-income home buyers, need more assistance to get into homeownership,” Wooten said. “The sales maxes allow buyers to go after more homes with our assistance. The more homeownership assistance we offer, the more flexibility that they have, and the better off they’re going to be when they get into that home.”
The Charlotte Journalism Collaborative is supported by the Local Media Project, an initiative launched by the Solutions Journalism Network with support from the Knight Foundation to strengthen and reinvigorate local media ecosystems.
