"We normally have about $2.5 million a year from the city's redevelopment agency for our Mortgage Assistance program and often times that gets used, so this helps," Jackie Campbell, an administrator with the Community and Economic Development Agency (CEDA), said last week.

The grant came from the state's Department of Housing and Community Development CalHome Program.

Mayor Jerry Brown said the grant "will allow more Oakland families to experience the pride and security of home ownership."

The revenues will provide second or third mortgages of up to $50,000 to eligible very low and first-time home buyers whose household income does not exceed 80 percent of the Bay Area median income. For a family of four that would be $66,250.

Properties must be owner-occupied homes, townhouses or condominiums in Oakland and participants seeking loans must attend a Home Buyer Education Workshop to become certified, Campbell said.

Under the program, the maximum home price is limited to $425,000, the median sales price of a single-family home in Alameda County in December 2003, according to California Association of Realtors.

The state program gets funds from the sale of bonds provided by the passage of Proposition 46, the Housing and Emergency Shelter Trust Fund Act of 2002. Tax revenues during the next 20 years will pay for state bonds.

City officials have been working to boost the level of home ownership through a variety of initiatives from Fannie Mae and such financial institutions as Bank of America and Wells Fargo. There is also a push to increase the percentage of minority home owners. Nationwide, the home ownership rate for Caucasians is 75 percent, but for African Americans and Hispanics it is 47 percent and 48 percent, respectively. Officials estimate the home ownership rate for Asian Americans is about 60 percent.

Oakland community leaders have said for years that neighborhoods will improve with a better balance between renters and home owners. Currently about 60 percent of city residents are renters, and many say they cannot afford to buy homes as prices soar in the Bay Area.

High housing values near the Bay have prompted many Oakland residents to relocate to Contra Costa County or as far away as Tracy and Stockton.

For information about the Oakland program, call (510) 238-6984.

The Oakland Tribune: Cityside
Leanne McLaughlin, Managing Editor
(510) 208-6447
(510) 208-6477 Fax##
lmclaughlin@angnewspapers.com Email