An Analysis of the Neighborhood Impacts of the Mortgage Assistance Program in Dallas

Down-payment or closing cost assistance is a commonly used and effective program in addressing the wealth constraints of underserved homebuyers. This paper estimates the impact of the city of Dallas Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) on neighborhood home values. We define neighborhoods for each sale based on distance from MAP properties, and estimate the difference-in-difference (DID) in home prices between neighborhoods with various numbers of MAP before and after MAP sales. We find that while MAP properties tend to locate in neighborhoods with generally lower property values, the infusion of MAP has no detrimental impact on neighboring property values overall.