The amount of money that buyers are paying up front on their mortgages is way up, but still might not be as high as you think. Although many people believe in the myth of the 20% down payment, the typical buyer actually puts down far less; in fact, even though the median down payment percentage reached a nearly 15-year high last quarter, it was still just 7.6% of the median sales price! Keep reading to learn more about the changing trends in home financing.
In terms of dollars, the median down payment actually reached its highest point since at least Q1 2000, which is as far back as national property data company ATTOM Data Solutions tracks the number. The median payment in Q2 2018 was $19,900, up 19% from the previous quarter and up 18% from the same time last year. As a percentage of the median sales price for financed home purchases, $19,900 equaled 7.6%, up from 6.6% in both Q1 2018 and Q2 2017. This was the highest percent observed since Q3 2003!
The four largest median down payments were all seen in Californian metro areas, with San Jose topping the list at $306,000 (25.5% of the median sales price). The smallest median down payment among the 103 metropolitan statistical areas analyzed was just $3,622 (2.1%) in Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC.
