Late in the afternoon of July 21, Scott Syphax sat in a coffee shop near the state Capitol. He said the long fight over seller-funded down payment assistance would not end if Congress killed the program.

It sounded that afternoon like a wild boast from the president and chief executive officer of Sacramento's Nehemiah Corp. of America. Days later, Congress passed a housing bill that banned down payment assistance. President Bush signed it, sealing the fate of a controversial program started at a south Sacramento Baptist church in the 1990s. It would all end Oct. 1.

Now, that deadline is less than three weeks away. And backers of down payment assistance say they are on the verge of resurrecting it. On Thursday, Syphax talked on a national conference call to 9,700 listeners, saying, "We believe it will get done before the end of the month."

Seller-funded down payment assistance was designed more than a decade ago to help people who can afford monthly payments but don't have cash for a down payment. A seller's agent asks a nonprofit firm like Nehemiah for a down payment "gift." Nehemiah sends money. The seller sends back a check for the same amount and adds a $499 processing fee.

Nehemiah claims it has done nearly 300,000 gifts nationally since 1997, including 4,000 in Sacramento County.

Federal housing authorities have long fought the practice, saying sellers inflate the cost of the house and that a disproportionate share of buyers who get assistance end up in foreclosure. But until the government prevailed in the recent housing bill, powerful real estate forces always aligned with mayors and advocates for lower-income buyers to protect it.

Syphax said the U.S. House Financial Services Committee has scheduled a hearing next Tuesday to consider a bill that brings it alive again. A day after lobbying Capitol Hill, he rallied supporters on the phone.

"It's working, and the cynics in the press and the cynics in Washington, they are all starting to pause and say, 'Oh my God, this is real. These folks are going to do it,' " he said.

Reports in the real estate industry press say there's a compromise in the works to save down payment assistance. The deal would restore the program for borrowers with credit scores of 680 and higher. Those with scores between 620 and 680 could get assistance but might pay more for mortgage insurance. Borrowers with scores below 620 might be eligible in mid-2009, according to Inman News.

Syphax told his national audience that the National Association of Home Builders is a supporter and that the National Association of Realtors may be leaning its way. Many Sacramento-area real estate agents and mortgage brokers say down payment assistance is critical to recovery of the capital region's housing market.

That's up to lawmakers. As late as Thursday, Nehemiah supporter Jerry Howard, chief executive officer of NAHB, told Builder Magazine that Senate Republicans remain determined to keep down payment assistance in its grave.

Builder celebrates regional honors

This is a rough time for home builders, but Tim Lewis Communities of Roseville has something bright to celebrate.

The builder won top regional honors again this year for customer service and home design from J.D. Power and Associates. It's the second year in a row for the privately held builder incorporated in 1986.

Owner Tim Lewis said Thursday, "Obviously, our industry has gone through some tough times, and it's really rewarding and motivating for our team, as well as me personally, for taking good care of our customers. The efforts that we do in that regard are being recognized. How could you not be happy about that?"

For builders, the Powers awards are big. Dallas-based Centex Homes won top honors locally for new-home quality.

New homes called energy-efficient

Home builders say they're doing their share for California's war on global warming. It's time for owners of existing homes to step up and be retrofitted, they say.

Two studies commissioned by the building industry say new houses are far more energy- efficient than those built in 1990. Indeed, homes built since 2006 produce 25 percent fewer greenhouse gas emissions than those built in 1990, they claim.

What's the beef? Builders don't want the state tightening energy codes for new houses.

The state's new global warming act, AB32, requires California to cut greenhouse gas emissions back to 1990 levels by 2020. Builders say making older homes more energy-efficient will accomplish more than adding requirements for new homes.

Call The Bee's Jim Wasserman, (916) 321-1102. Read his blog on real estate, Home Front, at www.sacbee.com/blogs.