Wells Fargo expands $10K down payment grant program

Wells Fargo announced on Monday that it has expanded its $10,000 down payment grant program for underserved borrowers to an additional 12 metro areas, more than a year after initially launching it in eight markets. 

“We are expanding the availability of our Homebuyer Access grant program to additional areas to expand opportunities for low-to-moderate income homebuyers,” Kevin Reen, head of Wells Fargo Home Lending, said in a statement. 

Wells Fargo’s Homebuyer Access program is available to borrowers who earn 120% or less of the area median income (AMI). The funds can only be used toward the down payment on a primary residence with the use of a fixed-rate conventional loan through Wells Fargo. 

Five of the new metro areas are in California. They include Anaheim, Los Angeles, Oxnard, San Diego and Salinas. The other new markets include Buffalo, New York; Denver; Kansas City, Missouri; Memphis, Tennessee; Oklahoma City; Omaha, Nebraska; and Pittsburgh.

In August 2023, the bank announced the launch of the program in eight major U.S. metros — Minneapolis; Philadelphia; Dallas; Washington, D.C., Baltimore; Atlanta; Charlotte; and New York City.

Eligible buyers can combine the bank’s down payment grant with other programs, which could result in up to $15,000 for closing costs and a down payment. The bank’s Dream. Plan. Home. program provides up to $5,000 in closing cost credits to borrowers with an income at or below 80% of the AMI. It is available in certain counties in 22 metro areas.

Wells Fargo’s Homebuyer Access grant program is an extension of the bank’s Special Purpose Credit Program (SPCP), which was announced in April 2022. At the time of its launch, the bank committed $210 million to helping minority families. 

In January 2023, Wells Fargo also announced its exit from the correspondent lending space and a revised focus on bank customers and minority homebuyers through its mortgage retail team. Wells Fargo invested an additional $100 million to advance racial equity in homeownership and deployed additional home mortgage consultants in local minority communities.

Wells Fargo’s mortgage originations reached $5.5 billion in third-quarter 2024, down 14% year over year but up 4% from the second quarter. Wells Fargo’s home lending revenue totaled $842 million, up 2% from Q2 2024 and largely driven by higher servicing income.