Making a Difference
Nearly three years after its launch, ONE+Boston continues to enjoy success helping low- and moderate-income households and people of color purchase a home in the city.
As a joint effort of MHP, the City of Boston, the Massachusetts Affordable Housing Alliance (MAHA) and participating lenders, ONE+ has helped 363 individuals and families purchase their first home. Two-thirds are people of color.
“We’re thrilled that so many Black and Latinx homebuyers have used ONE+,” said Elliot Schmiedl, MHP’s director of homeownership. “Now, they can realize the long-term benefits of building wealth.”
ONE+Boston is an enhanced version of MHP’s ONE Mortgage, the statewide program that has helped over 24,000 households buy their first home. ONE+Boston combines the low-cost features of ONE with $12 million in city funds which are used to provide down-payment assistance and discounted fixed interest rates. This increases buying power as nearly half of our ONE+buyers have been able to buy market-rate properties instead of being limited to subsidized, deed-restricted affordable properties.
Lenders who’ve closed ONE+Boston loans include Cambridge Savings, Cambridge Trust, Citizens Bank, City of Boston Credit Union, Eastern Bank, Rockland Trust, Santander, The Cooperative Bank, Webster Bank and First Citizens Bank & Trust Company (formerly Silicon Valley Bank).
With its success in Boston, MHP is looking to expand the ONE+ model into more parts of the state. “Low inventory, high prices, and rising rates have made homebuying challenging,” said Schmiedl. “First-time buyers need programs like ONE+ and we look forward to finding other partners and lenders so we can expand this success across the state.”
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How ONE+Boston increases buying power