Zillow Partnership to Help Prospective Homebuyers Understand Down Payment Assistance

US real estate company Zillow has announced a partnership with Down Payment Resource (DPR) to provide information on the portal's listings around down payment assistance that home hunters may be eligible for.

Zillow users will now be able to fill in a few fields in a section towards the bottom of each portal listing to find out instantly whether they might be able to get assistance with a down payment and ultimately own a home.

Atlanta-based Down Payment Resource (DPR) is a company that helps real estate professionals connect their homebuying clients to the multitude of down payment assistance programs throughout the country. The company tracks funding status, eligibility rules, benefits, and more for over 2,000 down payment assistance and affordable lending programs.

The new partnership has been entered into with the goal of fair housing practice in mind and has been developed by Zillow's Social Impact Product team. Commenting on the partnership, Grace Chung, Zillow's Director of social impact said:

"We want everyone to have access to resources that can help overcome common barriers to homeownership like the difficulty of saving for a down payment, which is especially challenging within underrepresented communities,"

"Down payment assistance programs provide a viable pathway to homeownership, which can help build generational wealth and economic opportunity for many that may not have been able to imagine it for themselves. Information is power, and Zillow is proud to partner with Down Payment Resource to shed more light on these important programs."

Many American homebuyers aren't aware of the programs that could help them with their down payment, closing costs, or taxes. All 3,143 U.S. counties have at least one down payment assistance program, and more than 2,000 counties have 10 or more available programs. According to an analysis conducted by DPR, the estimated average benefit of a down payment assistance program today is approximately $17,000.