Homeownership remains the largest source of household wealth in the United States. But for low- and moderate-income households and Black and Latino families, the path to building and keeping that wealth can be full of obstacles that traditional homeownership programs often miss.

Most homeownership programs focus on a single moment: helping families put together a down payment to have a chance at purchasing a home. But whether a family actually builds wealth through homeownership depends on what happens before, during, and long after home purchase. Are buyers financially and emotionally ready to navigate the homebuying process? Can they afford to stay in their home when unexpected repair bills arrive? And when a homeowner dies, does their family inherit an asset—or a legal and financial headache?

This brief profiles three organizations—Homewise, the Dearfield Fund, and Catapult Greater Pittsburgh—that are testing innovative approaches to these questions as part of the Housing Innovation Program. Together, they intervene at four stages of the homeownership journey:

1. Preparing buyers for sustainable ownership. Homewise, a New Mexico–based lender, offers a $1,000 credit-building loan with a matched savings component, helping buyers with little or no credit history demonstrate repayment behavior while building real cash toward a down payment. Catapult's S.A.V.E. program takes a trauma-informed approach to prepurchase counseling, recognizing that poverty-related stress can undermine the budgeting and follow-through that homebuying requires.
2. Removing barriers to home purchase. The Dearfield Fund provides up to $50,000 in down payment assistance structured as a silent second mortgage, with no monthly payments or interest, and crucially, homebuyers retain 95 percent of their home's appreciation. Dearfield also certifies the lenders and realtors it works with, ensuring buyers are not steered toward inappropriate loan products or away from neighborhoods they want to live in.
3. Stabilizing ownership over time. Buying a home is a milestone; staying in it is the harder work. Dearfield stays engaged with buyers after closing, helping them navigate insurance gaps, property tax appeals, and refinancing opportunities. Catapult provides health and safety repairs (roof replacements, electrical upgrades, mold remediation) for homeowners who have held their homes for years but face mounting maintenance costs that threaten their equity and stability.
4. Preserving wealth across generations. For many families, homeownership wealth disappears at the moment of inheritance. Without a will or clear title, heirs can find themselves unable to sell, mortgage, or repair a home that is legally stuck in a deceased parent's name. Catapult's CLEAR program resolves these tangled titles through legal services, home repairs, and estate planning, ensuring that clients leave not just with a deed, but with a will, a named heir, and a plan that protects what they have built.

Three lessons emerged from our review of these programs and apply to all four stages. First, no one organization can do this alone: mission-aligned partnerships throughout the homeownership journey are essential. Second, financial counseling works best when it accounts for the emotional and psychological dimensions of financial stress, not just the numbers. Third, programs must continuously adapt to local market conditions: when home prices rise faster than clients can save, the tools need to change too.

The organizations profiled here show that sustainable homeownership is not a single transaction: it is a journey that requires ongoing investment, and the field's tools need to match that reality.