As the housing market in the U.S. continues its remarkable ascent, the landscape of home buying is seeing a significant shift in down payment trends.
What Happened: According to a study by Realtor.com, the overall percentage of down payments decreased in 2023 compared to the previous year.
However, particular areas, especially in California, are witnessing homebuyers making substantial down payments, often surpassing the $100,000 mark.
Analysis of data from the top 150 real estate markets up to September 2023 by Realtor.com shows that the average down payment was 13.8% of the home's price, slightly lower than 14.7% in the same period in 2022.
This suggests a growing challenge in meeting the 20% down payment, commonly seen as a benchmark to avoid private mortgage insurance (PMI).
According to the report by Freddie Mac (OTC: FMCC), typically PMI expenses amount to approximately ...