Mayor Bill de Blasio continues to reveal additional affordable housing programs as part of his Housing New York 2.0 plan to create 300,000 affordable housing units in the city by 2026. The two new programs are projected to help at least 2,100 families over an eight-year period.
Mayor de Blasio said of the new programs’ potential effect, “Affordable homeownership empowers families and neighborhoods and opens pathways to the middle class.”
HomeFix and Open Door
The new HomeFix program is meant to make sure low- and middle-income homeowners can stay in their homes by assisting them with low-cost loans. These loans will allow homeowners to afford to pay for necessary home repairs. The HomeFix program will not only help families keep their homes, it will also help keep the city’s housing stock in better condition. The city expects HomeFix to be available for approximately 100 families per year.
In addition to HomeFix, the city is rolling out a new program called Open Door. This program provides financing for new co-ops and condominiums for middle-class people buying their first home. Brick Underground reported that purchasing an apartment or house in the NYC metro area requires an annual salary of at least $99,151.
The city says the targeted income range for people purchasing these new affordable units is about $69,000-$112,000 per year, which will help many people who previously could not afford a home. The goal is for Open Door to finance approximately 200 housing units each year. While immediately helping individual homeowners, this program will also gradually increase the city’s affordable housing over the years.
