Here’s some great news for San Diego home buyers! New for 2026, there is down payment assistance available to those with moderate incomes.
The County of San Diego’s Housing and Community Services provides the funding for this Down Payment and Closing Cost Assistance (DCCA) program. The San Diego Housing Commission administers this program on behalf of the County.
This article will cover:
Program Details
Moderate income, first-time home buyers may qualify for a low-interest, deferred payment loan of up to 17% of the purchase price for down payment assistance. Home buyers contribute at least 3% of the purchase price.
There are no payments on the loan until you refinance, sell, pay off the first mortgage, or no longer occupy the property as your primary residence.
Your loan repayment will be made in one payment that equals the original principal loan amount, plus any accrued interest.
Moderate Income Limits
To qualify for this program, total household income can’t exceed 120% of the Area Median Income (AMI).
Here’s the table that shows the maximum income allowed, which adjusts for household size. You can see that for a family of four, the maximum allowed income is $156,950:
Buyer Requirements
To be eligible for this program, you need to be a first-time home buyer. If you haven’t owned a home in the last 3 years, you are considered a first-time home buyer.
Property Requirements
The property must be your primary residence. Also, it must be located in either unincorporated San Diego County, or in one of these San Diego County cities:
- Del Mar
- Imperial Beach
- Coronado
- Lemon Grove
- Poway
- Solana Beach
Next Steps
The first step is to talk to a participating lender, to check your financial qualification.
Before you can use this program, you will need to complete BOTH an educational class AND a counseling session. Here’s a list of approved providers.
Click here to go the San Diego Housing Commission’s website to apply for this program.
For more information about this and other County programs, check out the Housing & Community Development Services website.
Contact me if you have any questions about home buying.
