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Strategic Plan — FY 2000 -FY 2004 City of San Leandro Page 15 of 35 • Geographic Distribution All programs listed are available to eligible households throughout the City of San Leandro. Priority: Assist low and moderate income first -time homebuyers. Priority Analysis and Obstacles to Meeting Underserved Needs The Alameda County HOME Consortium prepared the following analysis of first -time homebuyer needs and obstacles. As a Consortium member, the City of San Leandro subscribes to this priority and has proposed activities that meet the objective of assisting low- and moderate - income first time homebuyers. The Alameda County HOME Consortium Housing Needs Analysis documented that a sizable proportion of households earning moderate income (80% of median income) spend over 30% of their incomes on housing costs. This is partly due to the long -term trend of Bay Area household incomes not keeping pace with increasing rental and ownership costs. The gap between median incomes and median home prices is sizable. In 1999, according to HUD, the median household income (for a family of four) for Alameda County was $65,700, while the median home price was $276,825 (California Association of Realtors). The Housing Needs Analysis showed that a household needs an income of at least $95,000 to afford the median priced home, in the absence of special lending or government programs. The median household could afford to purchase a house for about $186,000 without outside lending assistance. With the high cost of ownership housing, it is very difficult for even moderate - income households to become homeowners. Initial downpayment and closing costs, as well as high on -going mortgage and other costs, are significant barriers to homeownership. I-Iigh rents in the area make accumulation of initial capital needed even more difficult. First -time homebuyers, who do not have the equity windfall from the sale of their previous home, face increasing costs. Younger working households are moving further out of the urban areas in order to afford 'a home - reducing economic vitality, adding to • jobs/housing imbalances, and increasing congestion and environmental concerns. The high costs of ownership can also lead to neighborhood destabilization as homeowners sell to investors who then offer the properties for rent, rather than first -time homebuyers who may become long -term residents of the community. Objectives Assist tow- and moderate- income first -time homebuyers through participation in the Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC) Program, sponsorship of homebuyer seminars, and implementation of a first time homebuyer program using Redevelopment Housing Set -Aside funds. •