“Down payments remain elevated but steady, reflecting the broader housing environment,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said.
“High prices and borrowing costs continue to test affordability, keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines and slowing overall sales activity. Even with mortgage rates easing into the low 6% range in recent months, the combination of high prices and limited inventory has left little relief for cost-sensitive home shoppers, while increasingly concentrating homebuying among higher-income households.”
The data underscores a shift that has been building since the pandemic.
The typical down payment is now 117.9% higher than in Q3 2019, when buyers put down $13,900, reflecting both a 45% jump in home prices and a larger share of cash at closing.
Down payments surged between 2020 and 2022 as buyers competed fiercely for limited listings, then stabilized at 14% to 15% of purchase price. Despite a cooler market, financially strong buyers have kept down payments in the upper $20,000 to low $30,000 range.
