Where Are Down Payments the Least and Most Affordable?By RISMedia Staff
The current state of the housing market has put home buyers, especially first time and low income buyers, on edge. With home prices and mortgage rates at record breaking highs, larger down payments have become a common expectation in home sales, leaving first time and low income buyers stuck.
A new study from realtor.com® shows where buyers are putting the most and least down on their home purchases, by examining home sales through September in the 300 largest metropolitan areas using mortgage data from Optimal Blue. The report found that for single-family home sales, the average down payment jumped to a high of more than 14% of the purchase price this year, up from just above 11% in 2019. Key highlights:
The report stated that “Even in these lower-priced markets, down payments have been on the rise lately, thanks to a surge in demand for housing nationwide colliding with an epic housing shortage. Buyers are eager to make their offers stand out just about everywhere.” “The trend is most pronounced in the Rust Belt metros on the list. In Johnstown, Springfield, and Saginaw, all where homes are still very affordable, the average down payment has gone from around 4% to above 8% more recently,” said the author of the report. “For a place like Saginaw, where home prices also increased in the past few years, the two trends combined mean the dollar amount of the average down payment went from below $10,000 to around $15,000.” For the full report, click here. |
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