Buyers Are Bringing Supersized Down Payments

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With higher home prices, home buyers also are bringing higher down payments. On average, buyers in the country's 50 largest metro areas brought $46,283 to closing, according to a new study from LendingTree.

In some areas, average down payments are much higher. For example, in San Jose, Calif., and San Francisco, the average down payment is more than $100,000—the highest in the country. In San Jose, home buyers bring an average of $115,138 or 88% of the median annual household income in the area; in San Francisco, buyers bring an average of $103,016 or 90% of the area’s median household income.

On the other hand, Oklahoma City, New Orleans, and St. Louis have the lowest down payments in the country at $28,267, $29,371, and $29,958, respectively.

Nationwide, down payments on a home amount to about 62% of a given area’s median yearly household income, according to LendingTree.

View the chart below for a breakdown of the average down payments on homes across the 50 largest metros.