Down Payment Resource (DPR),the housing industry’s leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homeownership programs, today announced that Melinda Harris, vice president of marketing and communications, has been named a 2026 HW Marketing Leader by HousingWire. Each year, HousingWire’s HW Marketing Leaders program recognizes the executives shaping how housing finance companies communicate, compete and grow. Harris is among 70 honorees selected.
Recognition highlights nearly two decades of building the industry’s authoritative voice on down payment programs
ATLANTA, Ga. /Mortgage and Finance News/ — Down Payment Resource (DPR),the housing industry’s leading technology for connecting homebuyers with homeownership programs, today announced that Melinda Harris, vice president of marketing and communications, has been named a 2026 HW Marketing Leader by HousingWire. Each year, HousingWire’s HW Marketing Leaders program recognizes the executives shaping how housing finance companies communicate, compete and grow. Harris is among 70 honorees selected.
Harris has spent nearly two decades helping shape how lenders, multiple listing services and housing professionals understand and use down payment programs. In that time, she built DPR’s marketing function from a one-person operation into a structured, scalable engine that today drives industry education, lead generation and platform adoption across a national network of lenders, MLSs and technology partners.
Over the past year, Harris led campaigns designed to correct persistent misconceptions around down payment assistance, including persona-based outreach and myth-busting initiatives that repositioned DPA as a viable strategy for a broader range of homebuyers, not just low-income or first-time buyers. Her data-driven campaigns, built around DPR’s proprietary Homeownership Program Index (HPI) and Declined Loan Analysis, have become a reliable source of market intelligence for journalists, policymakers and housing professionals alike.
Harris also implemented HubSpot to better align marketing and sales functions, improving lead visibility and conversion across the organization. Her work supporting events, partnerships and integrations with major industry platforms has helped DPR expand its reach and deepen its presence across the housing finance ecosystem.
Her contributions have coincided with a period of significant company growth. Down Payment Resource earned a spot on the 2025 Inc. 5000 list of the nation’s fastest-growing privately owned companies after achieving 130% revenue growth from 2021 to 2024, and has been named to the HousingWire Tech 100 for three consecutive years.
“Melinda has been instrumental in evolving how the industry thinks about down payment programs,” said Rob Chrane, chief executive officer of Down Payment Resource. “Her ability to translate complex data into clear, compelling narratives has helped us shift the conversation from niche to mainstream, and her commitment to accuracy and education reflects everything DPR stands for. This recognition is well deserved.”
“[The 2026 Marketing Leaders] are raising the bar for what effective marketing looks like in housing,” said Sarah Wheeler, editor-in-chief at HousingWire. “They are combining creativity, strategy and data-driven execution to build stronger brands and deeper customer connections.”
For a complete list of the 2026 winners, visit the HousingWire website.
ABOUT DOWN PAYMENT RESOURCE:
Down Payment Resource (DPR) is the housing industry authority on homebuyer assistance program data and solutions. With a database that tracks more than 2,600 programs and toolsets for mortgage lenders, multiple listing services (MLSs) and API users, DPR helps housing professionals connect homebuyers with the assistance they need. DPR frequently lends its expertise to nonprofits, housing finance agencies, policymakers, government-sponsored enterprises and trade organizations seeking to improve housing affordability. Its technology is used by seven of the top 25 mortgage lenders, two of the largest real estate listing websites and 600,000 real estate agents. For more information, visit https://www.downpaymentresource.com/.
Learn More: https://www.downpaymentresource.com/
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