The California Housing Finance Agency’s Dream For All Shared Appreciation Loan program will begin accepting applications for down payment assistance on February 24.
The life-changing down payment assistance program, which offers first-generation homebuyers up to 20% of their home purchase price or appraised value in down payment assistance, will be using a random selection process to facilitate the equitable distribution of state funds.
CalHFA expects to make $150 million to $200 million available for 2026, and potential applicants should start getting ready now. The random selection process will include Governor Newsom’s direction that at least 10% of the funding goes to applicants in a Qualified Census Tract.
The application window will close on March 16. After that, applications will be selected and audited. Recipients of conditional approval will have 90 days to shop for a home.
“The California Dream For All program has already helped thousands of Californians buy their first home,” said CalHFA Executive Director Tony Sertich. “As these homeowners begin to repay their loans, the funds are reinvested into the program to create a cycle that will continue far into the future, planting the seeds of generational wealth to help keep the California dream alive.”
Applicants will need to work with one of CalHFA’s Approved Lenders to get a Pre-Approval letter, prior to submitting their application. Other documents will be needed for submission, including a government-issued ID and parent information—the complete list is located on the Dream For All webpage along with other valuable program information.
“I didn’t think there was any way we could afford a house, especially in this area,” said Craig Terry, a youth program manager in Grass Valley. Terry and his wife applied for Dream For All but were placed on a waiting list. A few months later, the couple were approved and bought a home in August 2024. “It was a waiting game. Then, it got very real, very quickly.”
The California Dream For All program addresses the challenge of buying a home in California in several ways. First-generation homebuyers can receive a large enough down payment to eliminate the need for mortgage insurance and benefit from smaller monthly payments. The California Dream For All program’s shared appreciation loan will save the average homebuyer about $1,200 per month, according to California Forward, a nonprofit policy advocacy organization that prepared a report on shared appreciation for the California State Treasurer’s Office in 2022.
All borrowers must meet CalHFA’s Dream For All income limits – about $148,000 in Del Norte County, $168,000 in Los Angeles County and $309,000 in Santa Clara County.
The 2025-26 State Budget provided $300 million for the California Dream For All program, which will allow CalHFA to help approximately 2,000 additional households, including homebuyers that have been on the Dream For All waitlist. Additionally, as those homeowners sell their homes, the state will recover the down payment plus a proportionate share of the appreciation and recycle those funds in order to assist more homebuyers.
The California Housing Finance Agency was created in 1975 with the goal of helping more Californians find a place to call home. CalHFA has helped more than 233,000 low- and moderate-income homebuyers with $43.5 billion in first mortgages and used $12.8 billion in financing for the construction and preservation of more than 85,000 rental housing units throughout the state. CalHFA is a self-supported state agency that doesn’t rely on taxpayer dollars for its operational costs but is currently administering various state and federal resources on behalf of the state through targeted programs. For more information on CalHFA programs, and how we are investing in diverse California communities, visit www.calhfa.ca.gov or call toll free at 877.9.CalHFA (877.922.5432).
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