(The Center Square) – The state Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee has advanced legislation to allocate $20 million to help first-time homebuyers in New Jersey.

Senate Bill 3080 would provide financial help in the form of closing credits of up to 1% of a home purchase price to first-time homebuyers. The bill would allocate the $20 million from the state’s general fund to the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (NJHMFA).

“Owning a home is key to creating generational wealth,” state Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, said in a news release.

To qualify, participants must complete an approved homebuyer counseling course, such as one offered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). However, under the proposal, participants do not need to be residents of the Garden State to qualify for the program.

“This legislation is one facet of the bold action necessary to combat New Jersey’s housing affordability crisis, while simultaneously addressing historically egregious housing policies that have left massive wealth, homeownership, and opportunity gaps between minority and non-minority communities,” Singleton, chair of the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, said.

The committee voted 4-0-1 to advance the measure.

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