Peel Region will ask Ottawa and Queen’s Park to extend for another year a home ownership program that’s geared to low-income residents.
In May 2008, Peel received $2.85 million under the Canada-Ontario Affordable Housing program (AHP).
Dubbed “Home in Peel,” the initiative set out to provide 282 applicants with up to $10,000 of forgivable down payment assistance towards the purchase of a resale home.
Peel received 807 applications since the program’s startup. Some 282 applications have been approved with 80 offers of purchase completed.
However, with the program set to expire on March 31, officials say Peel needs more time to ensure the remaining applicants secure homes.
“This program was administratively heavy in its start up and the time involved in obtaining financing approval, house hunting, sale negotiation and closing times (added) to the process,” stated a report handed to councilors recently.
Home in Peel is designed to give low- to moderate-income residents, who are currently renting, a chance to enter the housing market.
Of the 80 homes purchased, 39 have been purchased in Mississauga, 41 in Brampton and zero in Caledon.
The average annual income of purchasers who submitted an offer of purchase is $43,405 and the average sale price for homes bought is $196,882, staff reported.
The homes purchased include five detached homes, seven semi-detached, 44 townhouses, five town houses and 19 high-rise condominiums. Condos Mississauga.
Initially, the program was restricted to people with a household income of less than $62,600, and the home could cost no more than $208,000.
However, regional councilors joined other municipal politicians in asking senior levels of government to improve the criteria in order to “increase the pool of eligible recipients.”
As such, both the federal and provincial governments raised the maximum household income to $75,800 and the maximum resale purchase price for a home to $247,500.
The government also decided to hike up the down payment assistance amount to $10,000, up from the $8,500 initially set out.
Region officials have deemed the program a success. According to region staff, 30 of the 80 new homeowners previously lived in social housing projects paying market rent.
~Torstar Network
