In July 2023, the Hometown Heroes program received $100 million from the Florida Legislature to help Florida families purchase their first home in the community where they work. Just two months later, those funds were fully committed. Those funds went to help more than 6,400 families purchase a home. Due to increased demand and the rapid speed at which the previous funding was reserved, Florida Housing has redirected additional resources to allow for the program to be reopened with more funding to assist Florida’s homebuyers.

The Hometown Heroes program is available to all full-time workers in Florida who earn less than 150% of their county’s area median income (AMI). The maximum down payment assistance available to each homebuyer is $35,000, or up to 5% of their first mortgage loan amount. To get started, homebuyers must connect with one of Florida Housing’s participating loan officers, have a minimum credit score of 640, and be a first-time homebuyer (veterans are exempt from this requirement).