Here's Where Homebuyers Are Spending the Most (and Least) on Down Payments

Down payments have climbed to record levels as home shoppers contend with high prices and mortgage rates still averaging nearly 7%. At the end of 2024, buyers were putting nearly 15% down, on average, and the median down payment was over $30,000.

It's not like that everywhere. In affordable and less competitive housing markets such as El Paso, Texas, or Augusta, Georgia, buyers are generally making down payments of less than $7,500 (which is also less than 10% of the purchase price), according to new data from Realtor.com showing how much buyers are putting down in 150 U.S. housing markets.

In the fourth quarter of last year, buyers were making down payments averaging 14.4% of the purchase price. The typical down payment in the fourth quarter of 2024 ($30,250) was 125.5% higher compared to the fourth quarter of 2019 ($13,400).

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Which markets have the highest and lowest down payments?

Out of all the metro areas analyzed, the top nine with the lowest median down payments are in the South. Notably, the three cities with the the lowest down payments are in Texas, which along with Florida has seen the biggest declines in down payments in since 2023, according to Realtor.com.

The top five metros with the highest median down payments are all in California. Seattle is the lone metro in the Pacific Northwest in the top 10, which also includes three East Coast cities: New York, Boston, and Bridgeport, Connecticut.

Typical down payment amounts are well into the six-digit range in the cities with the highest medians. These tend to be areas with high-earning and wealthy home shoppers who are more likely to make all-cash offers.

In markets like the Bay Area, where down payments are highest, Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, describes "severe housing supply gaps due to low construction relative to buyer demand."

Softening in down payment amounts is more likely in less competitive markets in the South and West.

"Buyers who can afford higher down payments will likely remain dominant in competitive regions, but affordability concerns may drive more shifts in 2025," Jones said in a release.

Highest down payments

Here are the 10 metro areas with the highest median down payments:

1. San Jose, California: $283,950 (27.2% of the purchase price)
2. San Francisco: $226,669 (24.8%)
3. Oxnard, California: $167,416 (22.9%)
4. Los Angeles: $161,876 (21.7%)
5. San Diego: $150,407 (21.2%)
6. Seattle: $131,479 (20.1%)
7. Boston: $111,959 (20.9%)
8. New York City: $107,867 (20.8%)
9. Sacramento, California: $106,672 (20.9%)
10. Bridgeport, Connecticut: $94,962 (20.0%)

Lowest down payments

Here are the 10 metro areas with the lowest median down payments:

1. El Paso, Texas: $5,058 (6.1% of the purchase price)
2. San Antonio: $5,388 (7.4%)
3. McAllen, Texas: $5,644 (6.2%)
4. Lakeland, Florida: $6,489 (8.0%)
5. Augusta, Georgia: $7,290 (9.3%)
6. Virginia Beach, Virginia: $8,142 (9.2%)
7. Baton Rouge, Louisiana: $8,161 (9.6%)
8. Memphis, Tennessee: $8,251 (9.6%)
9. Columbia, South Carolina: $8,577 (10.6%)
10. Scranton, Pennsylvania: $9,712 (10.1%)

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