Affordable Housing
The City of Riverside places premium importance on increasing homeownership in the City and offering a variety of quality, affordable housing in safe and friendly neighborhoods. The diverse housing stock includes executive estates, ranchos, moderately priced tract homes, luxury condos, senior housing, apartments and historical homes. Riverside's median price for a new home in 2002 was $275, 232 while the existing median home price was $186,020. These prices are up to $200,000 less than Los Angeles and Orange Counties for a comparable home.

The Housing and Community Development Division encourages homeownership through two down payment assistance programs, offering a combined total of up to $85,000 worth of assistance for lower income households. The City also offers a lease-to-purchase program for moderate-income homebuyers, who can lease a home for three years prior to purchasing, all for 1 percent down.

Riverside offers a diverse variety of popular homeownership opportunities, such as the new Mission Village development in Downtown. This mixed-income infill development created 46 new two-story homes in the heart of downtown Riverside. The City also offers opportunities for residents to improve their homes through the Home Improvement Rebate Program. Moderate income residents can receive a rebate of up to $2,000 for exterior home improvements.

The City also offers the Riverside Infill Development Incentive (RIDI) Program, which provides incentives for single-family residential infill developments of five parcels or less in designated low income areas. Developers and owner/builders can be reimbursed up to $5,000 per lot for actual expenses incurred for grading and soft costs.