Hillcrest Residences offers the perfect opportunity for first-time homebuyers
When Hillcrest Residences announced its plan to add 144 housing units to the Watsonville area, with 20 percent of those homes qualified as “affordable,” the city’s Community Development Department called it a boon for the community.
Considered a coveted hub of the Central Coast of California, Watsonville attracts younger, first-time homebuyers. The Wall Street Journal pointed to the area as one of the most desirable places in the U.S. to live and work in the publication’s annual “Top Emerging Housing Markets in the U.S.”
As the Bay Area becomes increasingly dense, discerning new homebuyers can look toward outlying communities like Watsonville for many reasons. Its proximity to large job markets tops that list. Only a short drive to Silicon Valley and the ongoing tech boom, Watsonville boasts a prime location to provide suburban living. Secondly, living in Watsonville puts residents mere minutes away from redwood forests, majestic mountains, beaches and more.
Watsonville has long made affordable housing a priority, and the city upholds an Affordable Housing Ordinance designed to ensure eligible buyers have an opportunity to live in the family-friendly area.
Hillcrest fits perfectly within those parameters, giving first-time homeowners a chance to own a house in this emerging market.
Buying a first home can be a real challenge, especially in a state like California where prices are often out of reach. The median home price in California was $693,800 in January of this year. That represents a 3.5 percent decrease year-over-year. Yet even with a decline in housing costs, California home prices are still outpacing the national average by quite a bit.
California offers plenty of assistance in the form of homebuyer education, special mortgages, and down payment assistance. So eligible first-time buyers could be in line for some real help if they apply.
If you’re a California first-time homebuyer with a 20 percent down payment, you can get a conventional loan with a low interest rate.
However, the good news is that you don’t always need 20 percent down. You can often get into a new home with as little as 3 percent (or even at times 0 percent) down using certain low-down-payment mortgage programs. Conventional 97 (Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae), FHA loan, VA loan, USDA loan or CalHFA mortgage programs offer a myriad of opportunities for first-timers.
To qualify for any of CalHFA’s special mortgage loans, you’ll need to:
be an eligible first-time home buyer;
complete a homebuyer education course;
meet CalHFA’s median income limits;
have a minimum credit score of 660-680, depending on the program;
purchase a primary residence within the state of California
CalHFA offers an eight-hour online home buyer education course for just $99. Participation is mandatory if you want to be eligible for financial help from the agency. And, it facilitates one-on-one counseling sessions for home buyers, which can be face-to-face or virtual.
All of this makes Watsonville a perfect place for first-time homebuyers to secure the home of their dreams — and be able to afford it!
To book a tour at Hillcrest, visit our website here.