City Government

Below Market Rate Homeownership for Moderate-Income Households

Published

6 years ago

December 14, 2018

From now until December 28th, families pursuing homeownership are invited to submit pre-applications for four brand new single-family homes in Oakland. These homes feature four bedrooms, three bathrooms, and are priced in the mid-500’s, below market rate. Three of the homes are located in West Oakland and one is located in the Fruitvale area. These homes are built by developer Silvermark Construction Services, which has also been actively involved in the rapid rebuilding of communities burned in the 2017 North Bay fires.
Eligible households must have at least four members and household incomes must not exceed 120% Area Median Income (AMI), based on household size (e.g. no more than $139,450 for a family of four). In addition, eligible homebuyers must be mortgage-ready with at least 3% of the purchase price for a down payment, in addition to closing costs. Down payment assistance funds from the City of Oakland or Alameda County may also be available to qualified households. Applicants will receive preference points if they live or work in Oakland, but all interested eligible households are welcome to apply.
Below Market Rate (BMR) homes are an important tool in our region’s affordable housing toolkit, especially for the “missing middle,” households with incomes too high to qualify for subsidized rental housing but too low to purchase a market rate home. In urban areas such as Oakland, “missing middle” households include educators, first responders, healthcare workers, public employees and transit workers – whom communities depend on to thrive.
Hello Housing President Mardie Oakes believes that affordable housing to all incomes, especially low- and moderate-income working households, is essential for healthy communities. “Some portion of the housing market has to be free from speculation to ensure there’s a place for the people who are supporting the economy to actually live.” According to Oakes, BMR homes balance affordability with the benefits of homeownership. “Owners benefit from a modest rate of appreciation that tracks with changes in their area’s median income. This way, the home remains comparably affordable to the next buyer and the owner benefits from building home equity.”
Interested and eligible homebuyers must submit a pre-application by December 28th to be considered for the lottery. For more information about these new homes and how to apply, visit Hello Housing or call at (415) 930-4112.
For updates about Alameda County’s AC Boost Down Payment Assistance Program, funded by the Measure A1 Affordable Housing Bond, sign up here.
For information about the City of Oakland’s Down Payment Assistance Programs, visit their website or call (510) 238-6201.

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Oakland Post: Week of June 4 – 10, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of June 4-10, 2025

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4 days ago

June 7, 2025

Oakland Post

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Remembering George Floyd

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing.

Published

1 week ago

June 2, 2025

Oakland Post

Mural showing the portrait of George Floyd in Mauerpark in Berlin. To the left of the portrait the lettering "I can't Breathe" was added, on the right side the three hashtags #GeorgeFloyd, #Icantbreathe and #Sayhisname. The mural was completed by Eme Street Art (facebook name) / Eme Free Thinker (signature) on 29 May 2020. (Wikimedia Commons)

By April Ryan
BlackPressUSA Newswire

“The president’s been very clear he has no intentions of pardoning Derek Chauvin, and it’s not a request that we’re looking at,” confirms a senior staffer at the Trump White House. That White House response results from public hope, including from a close Trump ally, Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene. The timing of Greene’s hopes coincides with the Justice Department’s recent decision to end oversight of local police accused of abuse. It also falls on the fifth anniversary of the police-involved death of George Floyd on May 25th. The death sparked national and worldwide outrage and became a transitional moment politically and culturally, although the outcry for laws on police accountability failed.

The death forced then-Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden to focus on deadly police force and accountability. His efforts while president to pass the George Floyd Justice in policing act failed. The death of George Floyd also put a spotlight on the Black community, forcing then-candidate Biden to choose a Black woman running mate. Kamala Harris ultimately became vice president of the United States alongside Joe Biden. Minnesota State Attorney General Keith Ellison prosecuted the cases against the officers involved in the death of Floyd. He remembers,” Trump was in office when George Floyd was killed, and I would blame Trump for creating a negative environment for police-community relations. Remember, it was him who said when the looting starts, the shooting starts, it was him who got rid of all the consent decrees that were in place by the Obama administration.”

In 2025, Police-involved civilian deaths are up by “about 100 to about 11 hundred,” according to Ellison. Ellison acknowledges that the Floyd case five years ago involved a situation in which due process was denied, and five years later, the president is currently dismissing “due process. “The Minnesota Atty General also says, “Trump is trying to attack constitutional rule, attacking congressional authority and judicial decision-making.” George Floyd was an African-American man killed by police who knocked on his neck and on his back, preventing him from breathing. During those minutes on the ground, Floyd cried out for his late mother several times. Police subdued Floyd for an alleged counterfeit $20 bill.