DATE: March 22, 2016
TO: City Council and Housing Authority Board
FROM: Director of Library and Community Services
SUBJECT: Review of Affordable Housing Strategies in Hayward Including the Hayward Housing Authority; Housing-Related Strategies to Prevent Homelessness and Assist Homeless Individuals; and Authorization to Implement a First-Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Pilot Program.
RECOMMENDATION
That Council reads and comments on this report; and approves the attached resolution (Attachment I) appropriating $1.5 million in available Hayward Housing Authority funds to implement a First Time Homebuyer Down Payment Assistance Pilot Program.
SUMMARY
Housing affordability is a critical issue throughout the Bay Area region, including Hayward. Over the past several decades, the population of the metropolitan Bay Area in particular has continued to increase, while the options and opportunities for developing new housing units to meet this burgeoning demand have become more limited and challenging.
There are many individuals and families in Hayward who want to own a home and who can qualify for a mortgage and afford the monthly payments, but who struggle to buy their first home through traditional channels because they are unable to save enough for a down payment while also paying rent for their current housing. With the current cost of living and rental housing in the Bay Area, even hard-working families with good income and good credit can find it incredibly difficult to amass the savings needed to cover a 20% or even a 10% down payment on a home in a market like Hayward where the median home price can trend as high as $500,000 or more.
There are also many individuals and families in our community who experience housing insecurity: the circumstance in which just one unforeseen event - an illness, a job loss, or an income decrease from a job change - could result in missed payments and eviction. In these circumstances, often diff...
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