Senator leads groundbreaking new legislation to give federal match for money saved by first-time homebuyers for a downpayment on a home
Washington, D.C. – Oregon’s U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley today introduced new legislation to help support the dream of homeownership for Americans by ensuring working families have a credible path to save up for a downpayment sufficient to purchase a modest home by age 30. Oregon’s U.S. Senator Ron Wyden cosponsored the legislation.
The Homeownership Promise Act would create Homeownership Promise Accounts, a basic new standard for Americans that would allow any first-time homebuyer who saves $1 for a downpayment on a house to get a $5 match from the federal government. As young Americans struggle to purchase their first home—with the median age of first-time homebuyers rising to 40 years old in 2025—Merkley’s legislation is essential to restoring the dream of homeownership for millions of families nationwide.
“Working families should be able to afford a decent home in a decent community,” said Merkley. “For millions of young Americans, homeownership remains further out of reach than ever before, keeping them from establishing the foundation that has enabled middle-class families to build equity for generations.”
“My new Homeownership Promise Act would restore the promise of homeownership—one of the foundations that working families need to thrive—by allowing all Americans to save for a home and live that piece of the American Dream,” Merkley concluded.
The Homeownership Promise Act would:
- Direct the U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to create a matching downpayment grant, called a Homeownership Promise Account, that supports first-time homebuyers purchasing a median-priced principal residence.
- Establish an overall maximum contribution limit of $60,000 ($10,000 maximum combined personal, employer, and nonprofit contributions in addition to $50,000 maximum federal matching funds).
Merkley, earlier in his career, led Portland Habitat for Humanity and has continued to fight for affordable housing at every level of government.
In the Senate, Merkley, when serving on the Banking Committee, led the charge to end predatory mortgages that had turned the dream of homeownership into a nightmare. This ban was passed into law as part of the Dodd–Frank Act in 2010.
More recently, he has led the fight to kick hedge funds out of the housing market. His efforts produced the first-ever ban on hedge funds buying up single-family homes as part of the 21st Century ROAD to Housing Act, which recently became law.
Full text of the Homeownership Promise Act can be found by clicking here.
A one-page summary of the Homeownership Promise Act can be found by clicking here.
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