Downpayment Facts (What You Want To Know Wednesdays)

Realtor.com brings us some interesting statistics about how much money people think they need in order to buy a home.  The National Association of Realtors reported that 39% of non-homeowners believe that they need more than 20% for a down payment, 26% believe they need to put down 15% - 20%, and 22% believe a down payment of 10% - 14% would work. The average down payment on mortgages purchased in 2016 was 11%. So, most non homeowners believe that they need twice as much money to buy a home than they actually need.

Averages can sometimes fail to represent the whole story, so, Realtor.com dug deeper and discovered that most young people bought homes with less than 5% down in 2016.   The average dollar amount for these buyers was $3,500, just a few thousand dollars.

It is also possible to purchase a home with 0% down. There are several down payment options out there, but VA and USDA loans are the most popular loan programs that have the option to put no money down.

You also don’t need perfect credit, just fair credit! The average FICO was 713!


* Specific loan program availability and requirements may vary. Please get in touch with your mortgage advisor for more information.