CalHFA outlines Dream for All rollout; preregistration portal opens Feb. 24
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Summary
CalHFA staff said the Dream for All preregistration portal opens Feb. 24 and previewed expected funding available for the next round: a minimum ~$160 million and up to ~$210 million depending on unused conditional awards; staff also reported strong outreach and borrower uptake.
Ellen Martin, CalHFA’s director of homeownership, told the board the Dream for All program is at a transition point as conditional awards from the 2024 preregistration process are finalized and the agency prepares for a 2026 application round.
Martin said the program received more than 18,000 preregistration applicants in 2024 and that the preregistration method created geographic set-asides across nine regions. She described common barriers to using conditional awards — primarily borrowers who are not mortgage-ready or who cannot find an affordable home — and said the agency has been working to improve outreach and support.
On funding and uptake, Martin provided a recent snapshot: about 3,300 active conditional awards; nearly 2,900 borrowers have reserved loans and roughly 460 awards remain unused. She said the agency has distributed or committed roughly $390,000,000 of the $550,000,000 available to the preregistration process (about $340,000,000 used and $50,000,000 committed), leaving a minimum of approximately $160,000,000 available for the next round and an upper-end estimate near $210,000,000 depending on how many unused awards fall back to the fund. Martin said the average Dream for All loan amount has held near $115,000 and the average home price remains about $600,000; more than 75% of the loans have gone to borrowers who identify as BIPOC.
Martin announced the preregistration portal schedule: it will open Tuesday, Feb. 24 at 8:00 a.m. and close March 16 at 5:00 p.m.; staff will review applications, verify first-generation status where claimed, and perform randomized selections with conditional award notices expected around mid-May.
Martin also described a new programmatic set-aside that comports with the governor’s veto message on Assembly Bill 57: at least 10% of available funds will be reserved for borrowers living in qualified census tracts (QCTs). The plan the agency described apportions the first 15% of available funds to QCT borrowers and then allocates the remaining funds across QCT and non-QCT borrowers within geographic set-asides.
On outreach, Martin and marketing lead Eric Johnson said the paid-media campaign generated more than 11 million impressions in its first three weeks; an English 30-second YouTube ad had over 1,000,000 views and the Spanish version over 1,300,000. Staff highlighted partnerships with grassroots organizations, lenders, real estate groups and multilingual outreach targeted to first-generation borrowers and households at or below 120% of area median income.
Board members asked about the six-month award window, extension procedures and program longevity; Martin said award terms include an extension option (borrowers can request extensions at a 90-day juncture) and noted program modeling that suggests sustaining the shared-appreciation loan program at scale would require sustained funding over roughly a 10-year period. Staff also said they will expand outreach to wait-listed and nonselected applicants and encourage other down-payment programs where appropriate.
The board did not take a formal vote on program design at the meeting.
