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Down payment resources for homebuyers in Illinois

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The shortage of first-time homebuyers has caused a lot of concern for industry experts, and down payment assistance programs are slated to entice buyers to come to the market.

Atlanta-based Down Payment Resource released its 2015 Down Homeownership Program Index for the fourth quarter finding that there are 2,406 homeownership programs available throughout the nation.

This number of programs is down 1 percent from the previous quarter. Of those programs, 5,134 changes were made, 761 programs were updated, 51 new programs added and 58 programs were expired.

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The HPI found that 63 percent of the homebuyer programs were slated to assist first-time buyers and 15 percent were for community heroes, which includes firefighters, educators, healthcare workers, veterans and more.

As of February 3, the Down Payment Resource registry reported that there are 45 programs available in Illinois. Of those programs, 68.9 percent have funds available.