According to a new survey from NeighborWorks America, a national nonprofit community development corporation, 70 percent of Americans don’t know down-payment assistance programs are available for middle-income home buyers. Marietta Rodriguez, vice president of Homeownership Programs at NeighborWorks America, said down-payment assistance programs make home purchasing more accessible for first-time buyers and, because many of these programs require home-buyer education, these buyers tend to be more successful when it comes to maintaining a budget and staying on top of their monthly mortgage payment. In fact, the hundreds of millions of dollars available for down-payment assistance can be especially helpful for young buyers that are worried about affordability due to student loan debt. In recent years, the percentage of younger Americans active in the real estate market has lagged. One of the chief obstacles for first-time buyers is coming up with a down payment. More here.