When the typical home in Palm Beach County costs nearly six times what a typical family earns, the math on homeownership no longer works for working people.
Teachers, first responders, young families, recent college graduates — even parents hoping their grown kids can live nearby — are running into the same wall; owning a home is out of reach.
The imbalance between earnings and home prices has stretched to the point that it’s tearing at the fabric of our community.
That raises a question: What are we going to do about it?
Here’s one step we can take right now. I’m proposing a Homebuyer Match Pilot Program. It’s a simple way to help working families cross the finish line into homeownership. The county will match every dollar a qualified homebuyer puts toward buying a home, up to $50,000. That money can be used for a down payment, closing costs or even lowering interest rates. These are hurdles that can make or break a deal for middle-income families.
This pilot would use $5 million in existing county funds, money already paid by developers through the Workforce Housing Program. No new taxes or bureaucracy, just putting those dollars to work for people who want to turn their hard work into permanent stakes in the future of this county.
Eligible buyers would have to live or work in the county, earn between 80% and 140% of the area median income (roughly $93,000 to $156,000 for a family of four), and complete an eight-hour homebuyer education course. The assistance is secured by a second mortgage, which is forgiven after 15 years if the homeowner stays homesteaded in Palm Beach County. If they move sooner, they repay it or transfer the lien to another home in the county.
This program helps people who’ve done the work and need a fair shot to finish the journey into homeownership by creating real movement in the housing market and upward mobility. And it doesn’t require the county to build apartments, which currently costs upwards of $400,000 per unit.
It doesn’t strain infrastructure or require new development. It uses the homes we already have and the funds we already collect, keeping opportunity moving up instead of out.
Owning a home has always been part of the American dream: to build stability, wealth and pride. But that dream is slipping away for many of our neighbors. We can’t afford to let it.
This pilot program is a powerful way to push back and say that Palm Beach County believes in its people. If you work hard, play by the rules and put down roots here, we’ll meet you halfway.
Marci Woodward is a Palm Beach County commissioner.
