Budget cuts hurt home affordability

As June comes to a close, it’s hard to celebrate National Homeownership Month. While there’s broad public agreement that we need more affordable homes, the day-to-day reality for families seeking support from HOME DuPage, the housing counseling agency I lead, is very challenging.

Clients visit our housing counselors for guidance with building credit, balancing budgets, applying for Down Payment Assistance programs, applying for loans and understanding what sustainable homeownership could look like for them personally. One client, Vicente Hernandez, came to HOME DuPage after more than a year of unsuccessfully searching for a home. Through pre-purchase counseling, he learned how to save for a down payment, manage his finances, and navigate the homebuying process. Today, he and his family are successful homeowners. As Vicente shared with us afterwards, HOME DuPage didn’t just help him purchase a house; it helped him build stability and a future for his family.

This pre-purchase homebuyer education benefits everyone, but it’s essential for low-income households, and it can be a game changer in the current housing market. In DuPage County, the median single family home sale price hit more than $553,000 this May, up 10.6% from three years ago.

But new federal restrictions from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development mean that federal funds are no longer available to cover HOME DuPage’s pre-purchase counseling, one of our core services. Worse, the proposed FY27 budget chops funding for housing counseling in half.

Housing counseling is not just about helping families buy homes. It helps them become financially prepared for long-term homeownership success. At a time when housing affordability remains one of the greatest challenges facing Illinois families, we should be investing in these services, not eliminating them.

Maria Luengas, Executive Director

H.O.M.E. DuPage, Inc.

Wheaton