MILWAUKEE — It's been about four years since the pandemic disrupted the housing market and for many people, buying a home remains a challenge.
According to the United Community Center, the average interest rate to buy a home is over 6.5 percent.
Demand for affordable housing far outweighs the supply and Milwaukee remains a seller's market, meaning prices tend to be higher and homes sell faster.
All of these conditions make it hard for anyone to buy a home, especially first-time home buyers.
Brenda Hernandez knows the difficulties of trying to buy a home.
"For me, in my eyes, I wasn't going to get it because it was too good to be true,” said Hernandez.
The Milwaukee mom says she spent years wishing she could find a house that would hold her growing family.
"I got a 30-year-old daughter, my son's 29 and I got five grandkids,” said Hernandez.
Last year, a friend told her about a program she thought could help.
"It's all about making sure that families get the education that they need to be able to make the best decisions for themselves,” said Maria Santos.
The Homebuyer Counseling program at the United Community Center walks perspective purchasers through the entire process, from the minute they start looking for a house until they get their keys.
Maria Santos is one of the housing counselors.
She works with clients like Brenda to figure out how to break down the barriers that might be in the way and come up with an action plan.
“Do they have the employment history? Do they have the credit history? Do they have the sufficient assets to be able to move forward and purchase a home?" said Santos.
They host weekly informational sessions with bilingual counselors, where 40 to 50 potential homebuyers start learning the skills they need.
"Since we are primarily, and our families are predominantly Latinos, we need to make sure that we come to them prepared,” said Santos.
That preparation is already translating into results.
UCC says the average purchase price of a home bought by families that have been through the program is $190,000.
“When a family is feeling overwhelmed, when they're thinking that they're not going to be able to find that home, we're here to make sure that we let them know, 'you can do this,'" said Santos.
Now, Brenda can count herself as one of those success stories.
"Do I really deserve this beautiful home? So, maybe, I was thinking, 'maybe not.' But God made it possible and my offer was accepted,” said Hernandez.
Brenda and her family hope to move into their brand-new six-bedroom home by early spring.
She encourages others to take a chance at the program and wishes she would have done it sooner.
"I didn't believe in myself or that I could have something like that. So, don't give up, if that's what they want to do, they should go for it,” said Hernandez.
For more information on how you can sign up for the Homebuyer Counseling program, click here.
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