Boulder, Fort Collins in Top 10 Markets with Highest Median Down Payments
Faced with more expensive home prices, home buyers are bringing more money to closing. The median down payment on a single-family home and condo purchased in the third quarter increased by nearly 67% compared to a year ago. Median down payments are at the highest level recorded since at least 2000, according to a new analysis from ATTOM Data Solutions, a real estate data firm.
The median down payment of $20,775 was 6.6% of the median sales price for homes purchased with financing in the third quarter. The median loan amount was $275,500, the highest level since 2000.
ATTOM’s research shows the following 10 metros saw the highest median down payments in the third quarter:
- San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, Calif.: $243,000
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, Calif.: $154,000
- Oxnard-Thousand Oaks-Ventura, Calif.: $138,300
- Boulder, Colo.: $123,600
- Santa Rosa, Calif.: $118,550
- San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif.: $112,000
- Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalk, Conn.: $106,600
- Boston-Cambridge-Newton, Mass.-N.H.: $76,000
- Naples-Immokalee-Marco Island, Fla.: $76,000
- Fort Collins, Colo.: $69,125
Down payments can be among home buyers’ chief obstacle to achieving homeownership. The Federal Housing Administration offers loans with lower down payment requirements catered to first-time home buyers. Mortgages backed by FHA comprised 10.3% of all residential property loans originated in the third quarter, ATTOM Data Solutions reports.
Source: “Top U.S. Housing Markets With Highest Median Down Payments in Q3 2020,” ATTOM Data Solutions (Dec. 4, 2020)