The State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA) has boosted lending and programs for minority households and economically disadvantaged communities, increasing its share of loans provided to low-income and minority borrowers over the last 10 years. However, wide racial and ethnic disparities persist in homeownership in New York. In 2023, the most recent year for which data are available, White homeownership rates were 13 percentage points higher than Asian rates, 34 points higher than Black rates and 39 points higher than Latino rates, according to a report by State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli.

“Homeownership can be a powerful tool for building generational wealth, but many New Yorkers face barriers to buying a home,” DiNapoli said. “New York offers several programs to help overcome these hurdles, but improvements to data and reporting are needed so policymakers have better information to evaluate outcomes and consider whether additional actions are needed, given rising housing costs and limited housing stock across the state.”

SONYMA is a New York State public benefit corporation created in 1970 to make home ownership more affordable for New Yorkers. It offers low-interest mortgage programs, down payment assistance loans, loans and grants for home repairs, and mortgage insurance.

In Calendar Year (CY) 2023, SONYMA’s loans accounted for 1% of mortgages originated in New York. While all mortgages originated in New York State declined by 63.4% in 2023 from the 10-year peak in 2021, mortgages through SONYMA rose by 1.3% from State Fiscal Year (SFY) 2021 to 2023. The number of mortgages SONYMA provides annually to low- and moderate-income households fluctuates, but has averaged 1,669 per year from SFY 2015 to SFY 2024.

Programs for Low- and Moderate-Income Households 

The most used SONYMA mortgage programs are Achieving the Dream (ATD) and the Low Interest Rate Program (LIRP), which offer low-interest rate mortgages for first-time homebuyers. Of the two borrowing assistance programs, ATD, which is geared toward lower income borrowers and offers a lower interest rate than LIRP, is the more active program, with 1,406 borrowers in 2024, more than two-and-a-half times that in 2014. Together these programs accounted for more than 98% of low- and moderate-income mortgages through SONYMA in FY 2024.

Down payments can be an impediment to first-time homebuyers who have a steady income but may lack savings. SONYMA offers a Down Payment Assistance Loan (DPAL) and has offered enhanced DPAL programs for certain eligible households in recent years that provide assistance up to $30,000. The average amount of a DPAL provided per household has increased from $6,200 in FY 2015 to almost $16,000 in FY 2024.

Assistance to Minority Borrowers 

SONYMA has implemented programs to assist minority borrowers and communities that have traditionally faced discrimination in the housing market. Assistance to minority households has increased after 2020, averaging 573 borrowers annually, largely driven by a surge in SFY 2024. In CY 2022, the share of SONYMA loans for minority borrowers was below the statewide average of minority mortgage lending; however, that rose by 15.4 percentage points in 2023, exceeding the statewide rate.

Geographic Distribution 

The share of SONYMA loans between 2015 and 2024 was highest for Long Island, averaging 27.8%. The New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester regions ranged between 13.3 and 15.3%, while the other regions all received less than 10% on average. The Mohawk Valley region, which comprises 12 counties in the Mohawk Valley and North Country, had the lowest average with 1.2%. SONYMA last reported more robust county-specific data in 2016.

Recommendations 

As DiNapoli noted in his 2022 report, boosting homeownership and remedying racial and ethnic homeownership gaps requires multifaceted action, including:

• Working to ensure that the availability of homeownership assistance is widely known, and redoubling efforts to educate potential homebuyers on the value of homeownership;
• Expanding monitoring of and enforcement against discriminatory practices, including mortgage financing; and
• Improving reporting on available homeowner assistance programs to understand who benefits from these programs, identify underserved populations, and pinpoint constraints that may be leading to underserved borrowers being excluded from programs. More robust data released on a routine basis would give better insight into how programs can better help New Yorkers.

DiNapoli’s report found that, while SONYMA has expanded its lending and launched new programs to boost lending to minority households and economically disadvantaged communities, improvements to data and reporting are needed so that policymakers have better information to evaluate outcomes.

For example, data could be released more frequently on the Open Data NY portal, and county or neighborhood level data would provide the detail needed to understand outreach, use, and adequacy of the programs in New York’s varied urban and rural communities. The report also recommended SONYMA consider establishing performance goals for its programs and reporting on outcomes based on those goals.

Report 
Homeownership Programs at the State of New York Mortgage Agency (SONYMA)

Related Reports 
Homeownership Rates in New York