For many young people, homeownership often seems unattainable. Credit scores, interest rates, and the challenge of saving for a down payment create real barriers. For first-time buyers, the question is often not just how to buy a home, but where to begin.
This month marks my third year serving on the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. With over $3.7 billion in indenture assets, TDHCA plays a critical role in expanding access to affordable housing across Texas. The agency administers a wide range of programs, including affordable housing development, community and energy assistance programs, colonia initiatives, and regulation of the state’s manufactured housing industry.
Among these efforts, the Homebuyer Program stands out for its ability to deliver real results through strong partnerships between state and local entities.
A key example is the collaboration between TDHCA and the El Paso Housing Finance Corporation. This partnership allows local private activity bond volume cap to be deployed through TDHCA’s statewide bond platform. Combining its own volume cap with allocations from local housing finance corporations enables TDHCA to issue larger bond deals and deliver lower mortgage rates to homebuyers.
The structure works. Mortgage lending continues without interruption, even after local volume cap limits are reached. El Paso homebuyers gain access to consistent mortgage products and down payment assistance, through a broad network of lenders. At the same time, local partners avoid the administrative burden of running standalone programs while ensuring that local housing resources are utilized in El Paso.
The financial benefit is clear. In 2024, the El Paso Housing Finance Corporation assigned $50 million in volume cap to TDHCA. That deployment now generates approximately $23,750 in annual, risk-free fee revenue to the HFC, based on 4.75 basis points applied to the outstanding loan balances tied to the original volume cap assignment.
The impact is also compelling. In the first quarter of this year, El Paso ranked second among Texas counties in TDHCA Homebuyer Program loan volume, with 268 loans totaling approximately $60.3 million – representing 11.4% of statewide activity.
Across Texas, TDHCA assisted 2,245 households using $553.5 million in loan volume, with average down payment assistance of $9,514 and an average home price of approximately $252,270.
This first-quarter progress builds on strong performance in 2025, when TDHCA originated 452 mortgage loans in the El Paso area totaling $98 million. These loans included $3.5 million in down payment assistance, helping working families overcome one of the most significant barriers to buying a home.
Importantly, this lending reached households often left out of traditional mortgage markets: most borrowers earned at or below 80% of area median Income (approximately $72,000), and about 60% earned at or below 60% of the area median income (approximately $56,000).
These borrowers include police officers, firefighters, nursing and medical assistants, teachers, and teacher aides – essential workers whose incomes typically fall below these thresholds.
The TDHCA–El Paso HFC partnership is delivering measurable results, expanding homeownership and strengthening local communities.
Cindy Conroy of El Paso is a member of the board of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs. She also is the chair of the El Paso Matters board of directors.
The post Opinion: Texas housing partnership expands access to affordable homeownership in El Paso appeared first on El Paso Matters.
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