Renters who live in certain Baltimore neighborhoods and want to become homeowners can get help with the costs — part of a city-funded program that is promoting more middle-class buyers to plant roots in Charm City.

Live Baltimore, the city’s marketing arm, relaunched “Buy Back the Block” on Monday, a grant program for city residents of at least one year who live in much of East and West Baltimore and parts of South Baltimore. There are two grants available: one for $15,000 to support down payment and closing costs, and one for $20,000 to support a home purchase and renovation work.

The grants don’t have to be repaid.

The first grant option has increased from $10,000 last year, said Live Baltimore executive director Meghan McCorkell. It’s one of several home-buying incentive programs available in Baltimore, she said, and after only two years, it’s become a marquee effort of the organization.

“People are hungry for programs like this,” McCorkell said. “There’s a line of people waiting.”

Home and rent costs have soared among national and regional housing supply shortfalls that have pushed prices up. Consumers have also felt the pinch of more costly construction materials, surging mortgage interest rates and higher utility bills. Local governments, eager to keep residents on their tax rolls, have launched incentive programs designed to ease the burden, especially on low- and middle-income earners.

Still, Maryland is losing population to other states where housing costs tend to be more affordable, including Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, according to an October report from Maryland Comptroller Brooke Lierman’s office.

Live Baltimore’s Buy Back the Block is designated for people who earn less than about $140,000 annually and already live in grant-eligible areas. Participants must complete homeownership counseling; work with an approved lender; and contribute at least $1,000 toward the purchase.

The program is first-come, first-serve, McCorkell said, but Live Baltimore will give preference to people with homes already under contract. Since the last funding round expired, McCorkell said, about 200 people have inquired about future financing availability.

So far, only about 5% of the recipients have sought renovation grants, McCorkell said, which reflects buyers’ preferences for homes that don’t require extensive repairs. Last year, Live Baltimore disbursed 117 grants totaling nearly $1.6 million in assistance across 57 neighborhoods.

This year’s funding comes from the city’s Department of Housing and Community Development, which provided $750,000, and the Mayor’s Office of Recovery Programs, which provided $1 million in federal COVID-19 aid, McCorkell said.

One of last year’s awards went to Shanell Walker, who bought a once-vacant house in the Park Circle neighborhood. Through her mortgage specialist at Fulton Bank, the Southwest Baltimore native found a number of different incentives and met a contractor who customized the home to fit her specifications.

Walker, now a financial counselor, began the homebuying process in 2015, seeking stability after the deaths of her mother and grandmother.

She taught herself how to improve her credit score, increase her earnings and build wealth. Even when she met challenges, she stayed focused on her goal.

Earlier this year, after years of work, she finally moved into her first house. She likes her community’s intimate feel, friendly neighbors and, of course, living out her dream and helping others achieve theirs.

“I knew I wasn’t going to give up on this,” Walker said. “And when I started unlocking all those gems, I knew what I needed to do.”