What Does "DPR" Stand for in a Real Estate Listing?

When you see DPR in a real estate listing, it can mean one of two things. As far as homebuyers are concerned, only one DPR definition refers to them, and it's a way of financing their new property.

In real estate, the DPR meaning can refer to the state’s Division of Professional Regulation, to which real estate agents and brokers are subject. This DPR protects the buyer from illegal practices and develops rules and regulations in the real estate field. If a complaint is filed against a real estate agent, it is the DPR that can impose sanctions.

However, DPR can also refer to Down Payment Resource, a program that works with housing finance agencies, multiple listing services, lenders and realtors to “turn more home searchers into homeowners,” as its website advertises.

DPR helps find financing through its partnership with approximately 1,200 housing finance agencies throughout the country. When you see DPR in a real estate listing, you know the agent is working with the program and can help eligible homebuyers obtain money for their purchase that they may not have known was available. Eligibility for DPR involves providing information such as annual household income or veteran or active military status. Since the DPR qualifications may vary according to the housing finance agency, members of certain groups, such as people with disabilities or those with American Indian ancestry, may prove eligible for down payment funds. That’s also true of borrowers or coborrowers employed in certain professions, such as health care, law enforcement, education or emergency response.

Realtors and multiple listing services partner with DPR. Once they sign up for service, they receive a DPR finder to add to their website, social media marketing and email signature. Listings are matched with DPR programs so both real estate agents and potential homebuyers can identify eligible properties. A button stating “Find Down Payment Help” appears on the online listing, and the buyer can click it to find more information for that particular dwelling. According to DPR, 87 percent of homes in the United States qualify for some form of homeownership program. The down payment benefit program most often found for qualifying homeowners provides about $10,000, funds most buyers have no idea is available.

One example of a DPR program is Gwinnett County, Georgia’s Homestretch Down Payment Assistance Program. This program provides down payment assistance to first-time homebuyers earning below 80 percent of the area’s median income. The property must be either a single-family house or townhome and must be located within the county. As of 2018, an eligible property cannot cost above $181,000 for an existing dwelling or more than $230,000 for new construction. Keep in mind that this is just one example, and every DPR program has its own criteria.