Gov’t to shut down Homebuyers Assistance Program

Ricardo Álvarez Barreto, executive director of the Housing Finance Authority (puertoricobonds.pr.gov)

By The Star Staff

Due to a loss of federal funding, the Direct Homebuyer Assistance (HBA) Program, which supports low-income families in obtaining homes, will be shutting down.

On Tuesday, Housing Secretary Ciary Pérez Peña and Ricardo Álvarez Barreto, the executive director of the Housing Finance Authority (AFV by its initials in Spanish), announced that the program will close its acceptance period for new applications in the second half of 2025.

The program utilizes Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) funds to provide direct assistance to homebuyers to facilitate and expand homeownership by using such assistance to subsidize interest rates and mortgage principal amounts, pay up to 100% of the down payment required by the mortgage for the purchase on behalf of the purchaser, and pay reasonable closing costs associated with the home purchase on behalf of the purchaser for LMI homebuyers only. The assistance is offered through a grant.

“The main objective of the HBA Program has been to increase the number of families and individuals who acquire safe and affordable housing,” Álvarez Barreto said in a written statement.

Applications from low- and moderate-income families will be accepted until September, while those from families in urgent need will be accepted until July.

“It is important to emphasize that the closing of the acceptance period for new applications does not mean that the funds allocated to the HBA Program are exhausted,” Pérez Peña stated.

The officials also said they are working on new sources of financing to establish a successor program that will allow them to continue assisting families in purchasing affordable housing.

Since its inception, the program has benefited 13,713 families, including 4,153 essential employees, 7,353 low- and moderate-income families, and 6,360 families in urgent need, according to data provided by the AFV.