Recent policy changes in the US are aiming to improve access to home loans for first time buyers in several ways. In December 2014, mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac announced they would reduce the minimum down payment on certain mortgages from 5% to 3%. For someone buying a $150,000 home, the change means the difference between a down payment of $7,500 and $4,500.

In January this year, the Federal Housing Administration announced it was reducing mortgage insurance premiums by 0.50%. The White House said the reduction would save the average homebuyer about $900 a year and would enable about 250,000 people to buy a home.

Brad Blackwell, executive vice president with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, said he expects first-time home sales to grow less than 10% in 2015, but he said it would still be a ‘meaningful’ increase.

Wells Fargo, the largest mortgage lender in the country, is offering two types of 3%-down mortgages. It’s still a bit early to gauge demand, ‘but we’ve seen a lot of excitement about them,’ Blackwell said.