Down payment amounts are exploding in these metros
The
typical
down
payment
for
U.S.
homebuyers
soared
to
a
record
high
of
$67,500
in
June,
up
nearly
15%
from
$58,788
a
year
earlier,
according
to
a
new report from
Redfin.
The
increase
in
down
payments
came
despite
a
slowdown
in
home
price
growth
(4%).
Redfin
economists
attributed
it
to
the
quirks
of
the
current
market,
where
higher-priced,
turnkey
homes
in
desirable
neighborhoods
are
more
likely
to
sell.
They
also
noted
that
buyers
are
putting
down
a
higher
percentage
of
the
purchase
price
to
lower
their
monthly
mortgage
payment.
And
buyers
also
had
more
equity
from
their
home
sales,
which
gives
them
more
cushion.
The
typical
homebuyer’s
down
payment
was
18.6%
of
the
purchase
price
in
June,
the
highest
level
observed
in
over
a
decade
and
up
from
15%
a
year
earlier,
Redfin
said
Wednesday.
Overall,
nearly
60%
homebuyers
put
down
more
than
10%
of
the
purchase
price
in
June,
up
from
56.6%
in
June
2023.
Down
payments
by
metro
No
metro
in
America
had
a
biggest
increase
in
median
down
payments
than
Newark,
New
Jersey,
where
it
jumped
to
$125,000
from
$82,500
a
year
ago.
That’s
a
51.5%
increase,
and
it’s
perhaps
not
surprising
when
considering
the
amount
of
wealth
flowing
out
of
New
York
City
and
into
the
tony
suburbs
surrounding
Newark.
The
Newark
metro
area
was
followed
by
Las
Vegas
(up
40.7%
to
$45,500
from
$32,328),
Washington,
D.C.
(up
38.7%
to
$76,000
from
$54,800),
New
Brunswick,
New
Jersey
(up
32.7%
to
$124,213
from
$93,625)
and
Nashville,
Tennessee
(up
32%
to
$61,395
from
$46,500).
Down
payments
only
fell
in
three
metros:
Jacksonville,
FL
(down
28.4%
to
$28,338
from
$39,950),
Oakland,
CA
(down
11%
to
$195,000
from
$219,000)
and
Tampa,
FL
(down
6.4%
to
$39,773
from
$42,500).
Metros
with
highest/lowest
down
payments,
in
percentages
In
San
Francisco,
the
median
down
payment
was
equal
to
25.8%
of
the
purchase
price—the
highest
among
the
metros
Redfin
analyzed.
San
Francisco
was
followed
by
fellow
California
metros
of
San
Jose
(25.7%)
and
Anaheim
(25%).
Down
payment
percentages
were
lowest
in
Virginia
Beach,
Florida
(3%)—an
area
with
a
higher
concentration
of
veterans
using
VA
loans
with
little
to
no
down
payment—followed
by
Detroit
(6.8%),
and
Jacksonville,
Florida
(8.6%).
All-cash
purchases
on
the
rise
The
percentage
of
U.S.
home
purchases
made
with
all
cash
rose
to
30.7%
in
June,
up
slightly
from
30.4%
a
year
ago,
Redfin
economists
found.
“The
percentage
of
all-cash
sales
generally
follows
the
same
trend
as
the
rise
and
fall
of
mortgage
rates.
When
rates
are
down,
the
percentage
of
all-cash
sales
is
down
too,
and
the
opposite
is
true
when
rates
go
up,”
said
Redfin
Senior
Economist Sheharyar
Bokhari.
“That
means
we
may
start
to
see
all-cash
purchases
level
off
a
little
now
that
mortgage
rates
have
started
to
come
down
from
recent
highs.”
The
most
common
areas
for
cash
purchases
were
West
Palm
Beach,
Florida
(50.4%),
Riverside,
California
(39.9%)
and
Detroit
(38.9%),
according
to
Redfin.
All-cash
deals
were
comparatively
rare
in
the
expensive
metros
of
San
Jose,
California
(18.3%),
Seattle
(21%),
and
Oakland
(21.2%).
Somewhat
surprisingly,
Pittsburgh
had
the
largest
increase
in
homes
purchased
with
cash
at
28.6%,
up
from
19.2%
earlier.
That
was
followed
by
the
New
Brunswick,
New
Jersey
metro
(up
to
36.8%
from
31.1%)
and
Newark,
New
Jersey
(31.6%
from
25.9%).
In
Providence,
Rhode
Island,
just
23.1%
of
home
purchases
were
made
in
cash,
down
from
33.5%
a
year
earlier—the
lowest
increase
among
the
metros
Redfin
analyzed.
Baltimore
(down
from
36.1%
to
26.8%)
and
Jacksonville,
Florida
(down
from
44.2%
to
38.1%)
followed.
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