Inside plans to expand Polk County's down payment assistance program

Polk County Down Payment Assistance administrators want to expand the program after it was exhausted within weeks due to demand.

Why it matters: The expansion could help address housing bias , Neighborhood Finance Corporation (NFC) director Stephanie Murphy tells Axios, given that the program's inaugural recipients were disproportionately people of color.

Catch up quick: Polk County Supervisors allocated $5 million from federal pandemic allocations to launch the program through NFC, a local lending group focused on neighborhood revitalization.

• Low-income families are eligible to receive $30,000 no-interest, deferred loans through the program that began early last year.

Driving the news: NFC is seeking additional money to reopen it to new applicants, including from federal grants.

Zoom in: Of 150 families who have closed on loans, at least 66 — or 44% — were families of color.

• There were 72 white recipients and 12 that declined to identify their race or ethnicity.
• Loans for another 13 families are expected to be completed in the coming months.

Context: According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2022 five-year estimates , around 80% of Polk County's population identified as white.

What they're saying: Most of the families would not have become homeowners without the assistance.

• In many cases, the loans allow them to avoid paying for private mortgage insurance , which can cost $100 or more monthly, Murphy says.

What's next: NFC will present these results to supervisors on Sept. 25.

• The group would like annual contributions to the program from local governments but realizes that the county may not have space in the budget, Murphy says.