The state has injected more funds into its first-time homebuyer assistance program, “Time to Own.”
The program provides forgivable loans that can be used for downpayments and to cover closing costs on a home purchase. The average loan is around $30,000.
The state Bond Commission Tuesday approved an additional $40 million for the fund.
Housing Commissioner Seila Mosquera-Bruno said since it began in 2022, the program has made loans to 4,800 homebuyers in 149 towns. More than half of the recipients are people of color.
“With the high increase in rents, families that are working with middle incomes are not able to save the down payment,” she said.
The recapitalization of the fund has been on hold since the summer, but Mosquera-Bruno says that no deals went unfunded thanks to a bridge loan provided by the Connecticut Housing Finance Authority.
She estimates the current cash on hand will last until April.
GOP state Sen. Henri Martin, a member of the Bond Commission, voted against the allocation saying he’s concerned that it doesn’t help to make the state more affordable for homeowners.
“We have a lack of supply in the state of Connecticut,” he said. “We have more buyers out there than we have homes on the market. I see this program as a contributing factor to that demand.”
