Spotlight Innovator, President, and CEO Gabe Ewing del Rio is leading efforts to rethink down payment assistance (DPA) delivery and programs as a way to broaden homeownership and address longstanding wealth gaps. Through Homeownership Council of America’s (HCA) National DPA platform, his team is developing a national model to simplify access and direct capital to first-time and first-generation homebuyers.
Today’s homebuying system assumes buyers have access to significant liquid assets for a down payment, whether through savings, gifts, or family support. This expectation overlooks the long history of redlining, discriminatory lending, and systemic barriers that have excluded many people from building generational wealth. Additionally, cost-burdened renters struggle to save large amounts for a down payment and closing costs.
To bridge this capital gap, traditional DPA programs were established, focused on low-income households, often providing grants or low-interest loans to first-time buyers. These programs have opened the door to homeownership for many families, but many more are above the low-income threshold and still need additional assistance to close. Still, the broader landscape remains fragmented and difficult to navigate, with most programs operating at the city, county, or state level, each with its own requirements, funding streams, and eligibility criteria.
According to the Urban Institute, nearly 5.5 million people in the US qualify for DPA, but only 3-4% have taken advantage of it. Home Mortgage Disclosure Act data further shows that about 150,000 mortgage applicants each year are unable to close on a home purchase solely because of a shortfall in cash at closing, which may be due to something as arbitrary as the day escrow is scheduled to close. Eight out of ten of those applicants are from low-income or minority households.
Meanwhile, strict income thresholds often exclude many moderate-income buyers—those earning just above typical program limits. One such buyer was D’Andre, a first-generation homebuyer and young professional in California with strong credit and steady income.
“The kind of family support D’Andre saw others rely on—asking for $5,000 or $10,000—is a reflection of intergenerational wealth that he and his mother never had,” says Ewing del Rio. “D’Andre didn’t need help with his mortgage. What he, and so many others, need is access to a small amount of capital to address that kind of familial wealth.”
HCA’s DPA programs aim to change that, not just by expanding access, but by fundamentally reshaping how capital flows to new buyers. Each product provides tailored support to buyers like D’Andre, those prepared to sustain homeownership but locked out of assistance because eligibility is tied to low income.
By expanding access beyond low-income qualifications to targeted affordable census tracts and to first-generation homebuyers, HCA’s programs support households earning up to 140% of Area Median Income, or up to 200% in high-cost areas. This approach ensures assistance addresses structural gaps rather than relying on arbitrary thresholds.
“We realized we could take tried-and-true affordability tools designed for low-income buyers and apply them more broadly, and moreover take those programs anywhere,” says Ewing del Rio. “That was a huge aha moment for us.”
At its core, HCA’s National DPA platform provides a centralized, national model that simplifies the fragmented landscape of current DPA programs. Instead of navigating a patchwork of city- or state-based offerings, buyers and lenders access a streamlined system that works in any US market. HCA manages a centralized pool of DPA funds, allowing it to deploy capital efficiently and equitably across geographies, something local programs struggle to do.
Lenders originate loans using their existing infrastructure. Because HCA’s DPA model operates nationally, lenders anywhere in the country can plug into the system—an innovation that removes operational, systems, and compliance barriers that typically hinder DPA use and deployment.
After closing, HCA purchases the DPA portion of the loan and assigns a licensed servicer to manage payments, customer support, and compliance, thus reducing administrative burdens for lenders and ensuring efficient operations. By leveraging lenders’ licenses in each state and acting as an investor with delegated authority, HCA avoids the complex regulatory maze that limits most DPA loan providers to narrow geographies.
This structure benefits lenders by enabling them to earn additional Community Reinvestment Act credit while efficiently and strategically deploying DPA solutions consistently across a range of markets. It also creates opportunities to originate more loans to creditworthy buyers who would otherwise be shut out due to down payment barriers. For buyers, it delivers consistent access to down payment assistance nationwide and saves them from tax burden that they would be liable for if the lender had provided the assistance directly.
By centering structural change instead of short-term relief, HCA’s National DPA platform reframes DPA as more attainable and easy to deliver. In its pilot and early growth phase, the program has reached over 225 homebuyers—80% of whom are Black Americans, a group with the lowest homeownership rate nationwide. This success is not incidental: it is the result of intentional design aimed at reversing systemic patterns of exclusion to provide equitable wealth-building opportunities.
Looking ahead, HCA plans to provide over $1 million in support to approximately 200 additional buyers in 2026. HCA’s program flexibility and adaptability across geographies make the platform a powerful tool for changing homeownership access, shifting both who can qualify and how support is delivered. “We want to drive more wealth to underserved communities,” says Ewing del Rio, “so they can benefit from the empowerment, stability, and equity that homeownership provides.”
With its National DPA Solutions platform, HCA is not just expanding access to homes. It’s expanding access to the tools of wealth creation for the entire lending industry.