HEA Research & Insights
Evidence from 57,000+ families on the road to homeownership
For 24 years, HEA has walked Tampa Bay families from their first counseling session to the closing table. HEA Research turns that work into measured, public evidence that cities, lenders, funders, HUD and families can use.
Our research mission
Turn 24 years of counseling into evidence that opens doors to homeownership
HEA Research & Insights measures what housing counseling changes for Tampa Bay families, and publishes the results so that lenders, governments, funders and families can act on them.
Scope. Our own program records (HUD-9902 reports, case management and closing data), HEA’s public IRS filings, and public sources such as the U.S. Census. Geography: Tampa Bay and the Central Florida counties HEA serves. We study homebuyer readiness, housing stability, who we reach and how well HEA performs. We do not publish client-level data.
Research priorities
PILLAR 1
Homeownership readiness
How close first-time buyers are to owning, what holds them back, and what counseling and down payment assistance change.
Mortgage Readiness Index™
PILLAR 2
Housing stability
Keeping families housed through income shocks, eviction and foreclosure risk, and household debt.
Keeping Tampa Bay Housed · The Student Loan Squeeze
PILLAR 3
Access and equity
Who HEA reaches by income, race, ethnicity, language and place, and who is still being missed.
Who HEA Serves
PILLAR 4
Accountability and M&E
Results, cost per household and progress against public targets, reported every quarter and year.
HEA by the Numbers · M&E scorecard
Flagship · Published annually · 2026 Edition
HEA Mortgage Readiness Index™
How close first-time buyers are to owning a home: the barriers in the way, how long it takes to get ready, what it costs, and what counseling changes.
Data period: Oct 2022 – Sep 2026 · HUD FY2023–FY2026
- Top barriers to buying
- Time from class to keys
- Prices and assistance
- M&E scorecard and FY2027 outlook
What the 2026 Index found
Ready to buy, waiting to afford
89%
start counseling credit-ready
Median starting score 685. Credit is not the wall most people think it is.
69%
face two or more barriers
Income (81%), savings (47%) and debt-to-income (42%) stack on top of each other.
188 days
from first class to closing
Counseling starts about 26 days after class; most buyers close within 5 to 8 months.
+30%
median price, FY2023 to FY2026
$240K to $312K. Down payment assistance now covers 16% of the price, up from 11%.
Showing: FY2026 · Tampa Bay · All households · All incomes
Median home price for HEA buyers: FY2023 $240K, FY2024 $280K, FY2025 $318K, FY2026 $312K; FY2027 projected $321K (range $312K to $340K).
Road to the keys · FY2026
Aggregates only. Groups under 10 households are suppressed. Prices are medians of HEA-counseled purchases, Tampa Bay, Oct 2022 – Sep 2026.
Monitoring & evaluation
Every program measured, every result published
HEA Research runs on one results framework. Each stage has indicators with a baseline, a target, a data source and a reporting rhythm. We monitor every quarter and evaluate every year.
HUD-certified counselors, HomeTRACK curriculum, grants, lender and assistance partners
Homebuyer classes, one-on-one readiness counseling, credit and budget plans, referrals
Class graduates, sessions held, readiness assessments, assistance reservations
Credit-ready clients, fewer barriers, faster closings, purchases with assistance
Sustained, affordable homeownership and household wealth in Tampa Bay
| Indicator | Level | Baseline | Target | Cadence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Days from class to first counseling session (median) | Output | 26 days | ≤ 21 days | Quarterly |
| Clients credit-ready at intake (610+) | Outcome | 89% | ≥ 90% | Quarterly |
| Clients facing two or more barriers | Outcome | 69% | ≤ 60% | Semi-annual |
| Days from class to closing (median) | Outcome | 188 days | ≤ 180 days | Quarterly |
| Buyers at or below 80% of area median income | Equity | ~64% | ≥ 60% | Annual |
| Buyers owning and current 12 months after closing | Impact | Starts FY2027 | First baseline | Annual |
| Closings recorded in the case management system | Data quality | Partial | 100% in 30 days | Quarterly |
$321,000
projected median home for HEA buyers (range $312K–$340K)
$51,000
per buyer needed to keep assistance at 16% of price
~$1.4M
in down payment assistance needed, up about 17%
Latest from HEA Research
Reports, briefs and open data
Mortgage Readiness Index, 2026 Edition
Readiness, barriers, time to close, prices and assistance, M&E scorecard and FY2027 outlook.
HEA by the Numbers
Households served, who they are, outcomes reported to HUD, and cost per household.
Tampa Bay Home Affordability Report
What it costs to buy in Tampa Bay counties compared with what HEA’s clients earn.
Who HEA Serves
Keeping Tampa Bay Housed
Results of eviction and foreclosure prevention counseling during and after the pandemic.
The Student Loan Squeeze
How student debt overlaps with mortgage hardship, and why 2026 collections raise the stakes.
Open Data
Use our numbers in your own work
Aggregate tables only, under a cite-the-source licence. Suggested citation: Housing & Education Alliance, HEA Research, Tampa, FL, 2026.
Current research projects
What we are working on
- Published released
- Active collecting data
- In progress analysis or writing
- Follow-up update planned
| Mortgage Readiness Index, 2026 Edition Oct 2022 – Sep 2026 | Published |
| Mortgage Readiness Index, FY2027 Edition Data collection Oct 2026 – Sep 2027; quarterly scorecard updates | Active |
| 12-month buyer follow-up Are FY2026 buyers still owning and current a year after closing? First impact baseline | In progress |
| Tampa Bay Home Affordability Report Home costs by county compared with what HEA clients earn | In progress |
| HEA by the Numbers FY2015 – FY2026; adding 2002–2009 filings and earlier HUD-9902 years | Follow-up |
| The Student Loan Squeeze Oct 2021 – Apr 2022; update planned as 2026 federal collections take effect | Follow-up |
| Who HEA Serves Jan 2021 – Oct 2026 | Published |
| Keeping Tampa Bay Housed Sep 2021 – Dec 2024 | Published |
Research team
Research team and governance
HEA Research & Insights reports to the Executive Director. Each study is led and produced by our research and M&E lead, supported by HEA’s data systems team, and checked by housing counseling experts before release.
Executive Director
Sylvia A. Alvarez
Housing & Education Alliance
HEA Research & Insights
Research oversight & strategy · Data analysis & M&E
Latika Sharma
Program Reporting, Research Data & Evaluation
SpecialistClient Services · Invoicing · Program Reporting · Data Analysis & M&ECertified in Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E)Sets research priorities and strategy, designs the Mortgage Readiness Index and M&E framework, analyzes the data, writes the reports and approves each release.
Housing counseling subject-matter expert
Ria Straker Gumbs
Housing HEA Housing Counseling
Checks that findings reflect what counselors see with clients every day.
Research oversight & strategy · Data analysis & M&E
Richa Sharma
Housing & Education Alliance
Keeps case-management and reporting data complete, accurate and secure.
Who uses HEA Research
Built for the people who shape homeownership
Funders
Data you can trust
Real families. Real outcomes. Handled with care.
De-identified data
Client records stay confidential. Only aggregates are published, and no group under 10 households is shown.
Published methods and limits
Every edition states its data period, sources and definitions. Our data covers HEA clients only, not all Tampa Bay households; some records are incomplete; projections are estimates, not guarantees.
Reviewed before release
Each release is checked by HEA’s research lead and housing counseling experts against the M&E framework. External advisors will join once agreements are in place.
Become a founding sponsor
Put your name on Tampa Bay’s benchmark for mortgage readiness, and fund the FY2027 edition and the 12-month buyer follow-up.
Stay informed
Be first to see the Index
The annual release, quarterly scorecard updates, data briefs and event invitations, in English or Spanish.
Collaborate with us
Contact HEA Research & Insights
Data requests, media interviews, co-authored studies, advisory roles and sponsorship.
- Email: info@heausa.org (subject: Research & Insights)
- Phone: (813) 932-HOME (4663)
- Office: 9215 N. Florida Avenue, Suite 104, Tampa, FL 33612