Last month, the Oregon Housing and Community Services suspended the Oregon Bond program, which has been financing low-interest home loans since 1977.
As Oregon’s housing finance agency, OHCS sells mortgage revenue bonds to investors, then uses the proceeds to buy home loans from private lenders. Lenders, knowing they can sell the mortgages to the state, offer qualified first-time buyers below-market interest rates — usually a full percentage point lower than they could get otherwise. The popular program has been financing about 1,300 home loans a year.
Although this program has been very helpful for first-time homebuyers, it's important to remember that it's a buyer's market. Interest rates are at all-time lows, and home prices have gone down.
The Portland Development Commission also has programs to help first-time homebuyers, including our Down Payment Assistance Loan and the Mortgage Credit Certificate. For information on PDC programs, please visit www.pdc.us/nhp.
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