By Holden Weisman
Director of Policy & Advocacy, Habitat Greater San Francisco
Government funding makes up 30% of our project funding at Habitat. CalHome, the only state funding dedicated to building affordable homes for purchase by low- to moderate-income (LMI) first-time homebuyers and preserving existing homes already owned by LMI owners was unfortunately removed from the FY26 Governor’s budget. It was one source of funding our organization and other Habitat and self-help housers across the state relied on to help build homes and keep them affordable in the long run. Without these funds, the headwinds for us to continue to build more affordable homes across Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo counties dramatically increases. And for our community, it could mean fewer homes being added to the supply, raising prices, and thus making it harder for families with lower incomes to become homeowners.
Here’s a breakdown:
- Cal Home Removed from Governor’s Budget: while CalHome was excluded from the budget, $300M was allocated for downpayment assistance through Dream for All, a program more heavily utilized by higher-income earner households than the limits for homebuyers through CalHome. While we’re glad to see homeownership represented in the budget this move does send a signal that the state’s homeownership priorities have shifted toward middle-income buyers.
- Focusing on Production: Solely focusing on the purchase side of the homeownership equation without considering the lack of supply will only shrink the market for affordable homes even further and raise the cost of living here even more.
- Down Payment Assistance Insufficient: Not putting any funds into CalHome to grow the supply of permanently affordable homes for purchase for families in the 40-120% AMI range while supercharging demand with downpayment assistance provided by Dream for All for any remotely affordable house/condo will drive high prices even higher.
- Leadership Matters: Our state leaders can make things better in the Bay Area when they work with us to balance this equation and invest in both making it easier to own a home AND making sure we’re building enough affordable homeownership opportunities to meet our region’s needs with the support of CalHome.
What now?
We are so disappointed, but we are committed to our mission to build and sustain homeownership opportunities for local families. We have met challenges in the past and we will again in the future. We know from experience that to overcome these challenges, we must do it together. This decision is disappointing but has galvanized us to fight harder. We hope you will raise your voice alongside us. Stay connected with us on X and LinkedIn and we’ll keep you updated with ways you can support and take action in the future. In the meantime, check out this recent blog post by our CEO, Maureen Sedonaen, “The Only Way to Boost Homeownership? Together.” It’s a good reminder that, especially when faced with challenges like this, we are stronger together.