A new analysis from the National Association of Realtors’ consumer website found that the size of the typical down payment has risen $3,000 from where it was last year at the same time. The typical down payment is now $30,250 – which is about 3.5 percent higher than it was pre-pandemic. Danielle Hale, the website’s chief economist, says part of the increase is due to who is buying homes right now. “Today’s home sales are skewed toward higher-end homes, and this means larger down payments from more financially prepared, high-earning buyers as entry-level and lower-earning buyers sit out,” Hale said. “Additionally, higher mortgage rates give home buyers good reason to limit their loan size and interest costs, by putting more down upfront.” Of course, how much you ultimately put down is determined by many things, including the price of the house and the terms of your loan. As a benchmark, though, buyers last year put down about 14.5 percent of purchase price on average in 2024. (source)
