The California Housing Finance Agency board on a roll-call vote approved Resolution 25-23 to distribute $300,000,000 in state budget funds to the California Dream for All program and authorized staff to implement the program. Director Limon moved to approve the resolution and Director Sotelo seconded; the motion passed on a unanimous roll call.

CalHFA Director of Homeownership Ellen Martin told the board the Dream for All program is a revolving shared-appreciation loan that “provides loans for down payment or closing cost assistance to eligible homebuyers. When the homebuyer sells or transfers their home, they'll repay our original loan plus a share of the appreciation in the value of the home.” Martin said the program’s characteristic is that the appreciation share repaid is proportional to the share borrowed — “if you borrow 20%, you pay back 20%.”

Martin said phase 2 launched in April 2024 and that, after accounting for repayments, interest earnings and fallout from phase 1, CalHFA had about $266,000,000 available for phase 2. Based on current average loan amounts by region, staff estimate that funding will support roughly 2,300 Dream for All loans. The state budget’s additional $300,000,000 appropriation will allow CalHFA to issue conditional awards to all borrowers remaining on its wait list and to reopen pre-registration to select additional conditional awardees.

CalHFA staff reported program outcomes through early August: about 2,500 conditional or active awards were issued (CalHFA said it has over‑allocated to account for expected fallout), roughly 86% of phase 2 funding has been used to reserve loans, the projected average Dream for All loan amount is $115,000, and the projected average home price for borrowers is about $600,000. Staff said more than 75% of borrowers self-identified as belonging to a community of color and that uptake improved notably for Black/African American borrowers compared with phase 1. Martin described geographic set-asides and an upfront outreach campaign as part of the phase 2 delivery changes that helped reach targeted communities.

Board members asked about program design choices, including the 20% loan share. Martin and board members discussed that, in the current California market, a 20% assistance level reduces private mortgage insurance and helps borrowers make competitive offers. Martin said if the market softens staff would revisit whether a lower percentage would allow CalHFA to serve more households. Board members also asked about refinancing and repayments; Martin said the agency allows a one-time resubordination to enable refinancing and that repayments are being tracked — she reported roughly 19 repayments to date that have been included in available phase 2 funding.

Following questions from board members about demographic disaggregation, staff said they have disaggregated AAPI data and will provide that breakdown to the board. Staff also said they plan operational changes to improve wait-list throughput, including call-center support, clearer borrower confirmation steps, and easier opt-out mechanisms.

The board approved Resolution 25-23 by roll call. Voting yes were Miss Cabildo, Chair Cervantes, Secretary Moss, Mr. Hardiman, Miss Lamone, Miss Wyant, Mr. Prince, Mr. Russell, Secretary Sen, Miss Sotelo, Director Velasquez, Dr. White, and Director Limon (moved earlier to consider the item and voted when present). The resolution authorizes staff to allocate and implement the appropriation for the Dream for All program; staff said any major changes to program eligibility would return to the board.

CalHFA staff characterized the next steps as issuing conditional awards to waitlisted applicants, reopening the pre-registration process, and using data from the current round to refine outreach and program operations for future rounds.