Down Payment Assistance · CalHFA · Los Angeles
CalHFA Dream For All 2026: How the Shared Appreciation Loan Works
Justin Borges, DRE #01940318 · 11 min read
CalHFA's Dream For All loan covers up to 20% of your purchase price for a down payment, capped at $150,000, with no monthly payments. When you sell, refinance, or pay off your first mortgage, you repay that amount plus 20% of your home's appreciation (15% if your income is at or below 80% of the area median). The most recent application window closed March 16, 2026, and no new round has been confirmed.
What You Will Learn
- Is Dream For All Open Right Now in 2026?
- How Does the Shared Appreciation Repayment Work?
- Who Counts as a First-Generation Homebuyer?
- What Are the 2026 Dream For All Income Limits in LA County?
- What Does Repayment Look Like on a $700K Home?
- How Does the Voucher Lottery Process Work?
- Why Did the 2023 and 2024 Rounds Sell Out So Fast?
- What Down Payment Assistance Options Exist If Dream For All Is Closed?
- Frequently Asked Questions
Is Dream For All Open Right Now in 2026?
No. The most recent Dream For All registration window ran February 24 through March 16, 2026, and the portal has been closed since (CalHFA, 2026). California buyers I work with across Los Angeles County ask about this constantly, and the honest answer is that CalHFA has not announced when, or whether, a new statewide round will open. Check calhfa.ca.gov/dream/ directly before assuming the program is live.
Funding for a future round is not guaranteed. The California Association of Realtors publicly urged state leaders to continue Dream For All funding heading into the 2026-27 budget cycle, signaling the program's continuation was an open question (C.A.R., 2026). The final state budget agreement was announced June 26, 2026, but available sources do not confirm whether Dream For All specifically received a new appropriation (CalHFA, 2026). Do not plan a purchase timeline around money that has not been confirmed.
Every buyer who calls me about Dream For All wants a yes-or-no answer, and right now the honest one is that the window is closed. What I tell clients is to use this waiting period getting their income, credit, and homebuyer education requirements locked down, so they can register the moment CalHFA reopens applications.
Justin Borges, CA DRE #01940318If you need down payment help before a new California round opens, jump to the alternatives section below, or start with the LA Metro Home Finder first-time buyer guide.
How Does the Shared Appreciation Repayment Work?
Dream For All is structured as a silent second loan behind a Dream For All Conventional first mortgage. There are no monthly payments on the second loan, and it accrues no traditional interest (CalHFA, 2026). Instead, CalHFA shares in a percentage of your home's appreciation when you sell or refinance. First mortgage rates on a California purchase have generally tracked in the mid-6% range through 2026 (Freddie Mac PMMS, 2026), so this second loan is what makes the monthly payment realistic for many first-generation Los Angeles buyers.
Repayment of the original loan amount, plus the appreciation share, becomes due when the home is sold, transferred, or the first mortgage is paid off or refinanced (CalHFA, 2026). There is no fixed term, so a buyer could owe nothing extra for years if none of those events occur.
The appreciation share splits into two tiers. Borrowers above 80% of the area median income repay the original loan plus 20% of appreciation, a one-to-one match with the assistance received. Borrowers at or below 80% AMI repay the loan plus only 15% of appreciation, a lower ratio built in for lower-income first-generation buyers (CalHFA, 2026). Total repayment is capped at 2.5 times the original loan amount, so a $100,000 Dream For All loan can never require more than $250,000 back, no matter how much a Los Angeles home appreciates.
See what a 20% Dream For All down payment could buy across Los Angeles right now
Search LA County Homes →Who Counts as a First-Generation Homebuyer?
Dream For All layers a first-generation requirement on top of the usual first-time buyer rules, and this is where most Los Angeles applicants get tripped up. Meeting one without the other does not qualify you.
| Requirement | Detail |
|---|---|
| First-time buyer | No home ownership/occupancy in the last 3 years, including a spouse's (CalHFA, 2026) |
| First-generation buyer | Never held title or a mortgage on a U.S. home in the last 7 years, AND parents do not currently own a U.S. home, or was in foster care (CalHFA, 2026) |
| California residency | At least one borrower is a current California resident (CalHFA, 2026) |
| Homebuyer education | 8-hour course plus a separate 1-hour Dream For All-specific course, both free and online (CalHFA, 2026) |
| Lender requirement | Pre-approval and closing through a CalHFA-approved participating lender (CalHFA, 2026) |
Homebuyer education courses typically follow HUD's national curriculum standards for first-time buyer counseling (HUD, 2026), even though Dream For All itself is California-only. CalHFA does not publish a fixed credit score or debt-to-income matrix; those figures are set by your approved lender, so get pre-qualified before assuming you do or do not meet the bar.
What Are the 2026 Dream For All Income Limits in LA County?
CalHFA sets Dream For All income ceilings by county, using area median income figures published by the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD, 2026). These limits determine whether you qualify, and which appreciation-share tier applies to your loan.
| County | 2026 Dream For All Income Limit |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles County | $168,000 (CalHFA, 2026) |
| Riverside County | $164,000 (CalHFA, 2026) |
| San Bernardino County | $164,000 (CalHFA, 2026) |
| Orange County | Confirm the current limit at calhfa.ca.gov before applying |
The Orange County figure could not be confirmed at high confidence at the time this article was written, so treat any number you see there as unverified until you check the official income limits document at calhfa.ca.gov. For Los Angeles, Riverside, and San Bernardino counties, the limits above come directly from CalHFA's published 2026 figures.
Buyers close to these ceilings should also review how much household income first mortgage programs expect for the home price you are targeting; the income needed to buy a house in Los Angeles guide breaks that math down for 2026. Riverside and San Bernardino County buyers should also see the Riverside County down payment assistance guide and San Bernardino County guide, since both counties layer local programs on top of CalHFA's statewide offerings.
What Is My Home Worth in 2026?
Already own a home and thinking about your next move? Get a free, accurate valuation from Justin Borges, backed by real Los Angeles comps, not a Zestimate.
Get My Free Home Valuation →What Does Repayment Look Like on a $700K Home?
Numbers make the shared appreciation structure clearer than a description alone. Here is the math on a $700,000 Los Angeles purchase using the full 20% Dream For All assistance, sold later at $900,000.
Step 1: The Purchase and Assistance Amount
Step 2: The Sale and Appreciation
Standard Tier (Above 80% AMI)
Reduced Tier (At or Below 80% AMI)
Step 3: Check the 2.5x Cap
On this $700,000 California purchase, a standard-tier borrower nets $720,000 after repaying the $180,000 owed, and a reduced-tier borrower nets $730,000 after repaying $170,000. Either way, the borrower walks away with equity built on a home they could not have purchased without the $140,000 in assistance up front.
Browse homes near the $700,000 price point used in this example
Search Homes Under $750K →How Does the Voucher Lottery Process Work?
Dream For All no longer works on a first-come-first-served basis. Since the 2024 round, CalHFA has used a randomized voucher lottery for California applicants, and the 2026 round followed the same structure (CalHFA, 2026).
| Step | What Happens |
|---|---|
| 1. Registration | Register during the open window with a pre-approval letter from a CalHFA-approved lender, government ID, and parent information on file (CalHFA, 2026) |
| 2. Randomized drawing | CalHFA runs a randomized drawing across all registrants; at least 10% of funding is reserved for applicants in Qualified Census Tracts (CalHFA, 2026) |
| 3. Status notification | Applicants receive Not Selected, Waitlist, or Voucher Issued status through the DFA Portal and email over several weeks (CalHFA, 2026) |
| 4. 90-day shopping window | Voucher recipients get 90 days after conditional approval to shop for a home and go under contract (CalHFA, 2026) |
| 5. Close with a participating lender | Reserve and close the Dream For All loan through a CalHFA-approved lender within program timelines (CalHFA, 2026) |
Because voucher recipients only have 90 days to go under contract, the buyers who move fastest already have a pre-approval, a target neighborhood, and an agent who has closed Dream For All deals before. Working with a realtor who understands CalHFA offers matters, since sellers sometimes hesitate on a second loan and voucher timeline they have not seen before.
Why Did the 2023 and 2024 Rounds Sell Out So Fast?
Understanding why California keeps changing how it distributes Dream For All funding explains why the program closes so quickly. The first round in 2023 ran first-come-first-served, and the $300 million allocated that year was exhausted in just 11 days amid overwhelming statewide demand (CalHFA, 2026). Buyers who were not online the moment applications opened, or whose lenders were not ready, were shut out.
For 2024, CalHFA switched to a randomized voucher lottery to fix that fairness problem, giving every registrant an equal chance instead of rewarding whoever clicked submit fastest. By December 2024, CalHFA tracked 2,058 active vouchers issued under that round, with roughly two-thirds of recipients using their voucher to reserve a loan (CalHFA, 2026). The 2026 round followed the same lottery model and is described by CalHFA as the program's third statewide round.
This pattern, generous funding met by demand that outpaces it within days, is the core reason a new California round cannot be assumed to open on a predictable schedule. Each round has depended on a fresh state budget allocation, and each one has closed almost as soon as it opened.
What Down Payment Assistance Options Exist If Dream For All Is Closed?
Dream For All is not the only down payment resource for Los Angeles buyers, and several CalHFA programs remain open year-round without a lottery.
- CalHFA MyHome Assistance Program: A deferred-payment junior loan of up to 3.5% of the purchase price for FHA loans, or up to 3% for conventional loans, for down payment and closing costs, deferred until you sell, refinance, or pay off the first mortgage (CalHFA, 2026). FHA loans are insured through the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD, 2026).
- CalHFA ZIP (Zero Interest Program): Covers closing costs only, paired with a CalPLUS first mortgage, with no separate interest charged (CalHFA, 2026).
- GSFA Down Payment Assistance: Run by the Golden State Finance Authority rather than CalHFA, open to a broader range of low- and moderate-income buyers. Confirm current terms at gsfahome.org.
- County-level programs: LACDA and other county housing authorities may layer added assistance on top of state programs. See the LACDA and CalHFA overview and lacda.org directly.
Long Beach buyers have their own local grant layered on top of these options; see the Long Beach first-time homebuyer grant guide. None of these alternatives include a shared appreciation feature like Dream For All, so compare repayment terms carefully with your lender.
FREE Weekly Webinar: First-Time Buyer Blueprint, Greater Los Angeles
Get voucher-ready before the next Dream For All round opens. Learn exactly how to line up income documentation, homebuyer education, and lender pre-approval anywhere in Greater LA, Orange County, the Inland Empire, and San Bernardino. Thursdays 6 PM on Zoom, totally free.
Reserve Your Free Seat →Start building your Los Angeles home search list now, so you are ready the moment a voucher comes through
Search LA Homes Under $900K →Frequently Asked Questions
Is CalHFA Dream For All accepting applications right now?
No. The most recent registration window closed March 16, 2026, and CalHFA has not confirmed a new statewide round. Check calhfa.ca.gov/dream/ for current status.
How much down payment help does Dream For All provide?
Up to 20% of the purchase price or appraised value, whichever is less, capped at $150,000, for down payment and closing costs on a Dream For All Conventional first mortgage.
Do I have to make monthly payments on the Dream For All loan?
No. There are no monthly payments. When you sell, transfer title, or pay off or refinance your first mortgage, you repay the original loan amount plus a share of your home's appreciation.
What is the difference between the 20% and 15% appreciation share?
Borrowers above 80% of the area median income repay the loan plus 20% of appreciation. Borrowers at or below 80% AMI repay the loan plus only 15% of appreciation, a lower tier for lower-income first-generation buyers.
Who counts as a first-generation homebuyer for Dream For All?
Someone who has never held title, ownership interest, or a mortgage on a U.S. home in the last 7 years, and whose parents do not currently own a U.S. home, or who spent time in foster or institutional care. A separate 3-year first-time buyer rule also applies.
What are the 2026 income limits for Dream For All in Los Angeles County?
$168,000 in Los Angeles County, $164,000 in Riverside County, and $164,000 in San Bernardino County. Orange County's current limit should be confirmed at calhfa.ca.gov.
What happens if my home does not appreciate before I sell?
If the sale value is equal to or less than what you paid, no shared appreciation is owed. You would only owe the original loan amount, since appreciation is sale price minus purchase price.
What down payment assistance options exist if Dream For All is closed?
CalHFA's MyHome and ZIP programs remain open year-round without a lottery, and the Golden State Finance Authority (GSFA) runs a separate down payment program. Los Angeles County buyers can also check LACDA for county-level assistance.
Related Resources
Ready to Get Voucher-Ready?
Whether the next Dream For All round opens next month or next year, getting your income, credit, and homebuyer education lined up now means you can register the day CalHFA reopens applications to California buyers.
- Licensed CA REALTOR since October 2013, DRE #01940318
- $200M+ closed, 106% average list-to-sale ratio
- Experienced guiding CalHFA and down payment assistance buyers across LA County
Text us at (213) 262-5092 with questions about Dream For All or any other down payment assistance program.
