Buyers are lowering down payments thanks to inflation, higher home selling prices and sellers just being more willing to flex and negotiate. At $42,000, it's the lowest average down payment in over two years.
The typical U.S. homebuyer’s down payment fell 10% year-to-year in January. At a median of $42,375 – it’s the lowest level in nearly two years, according to a report from Redfin.
The median down payment is down 35% from the peak it reached in June but still up more than 30% from pre-pandemic levels.
In January, the median down payment equaled 10% of the purchase price, down from 13.6% a year earlier and the pandemic-era peak of 17.5% in May. The last time down-payment percentages were this low was early 2021 before the pandemic homebuying boom drove buyers to put more money down to make their offers more attractive.