The upfront costs of buying a home can be challenging. Figuring out how much you can afford to put down and where it’ll come from can stress out any prospective buyer. It’s especially difficult for first-time home buyers and anyone who doesn’t have the benefit of sale proceeds from a previous home to help fund their purchase. After all, a down payment is a big financial obligation and requires some planning and consideration.
Fortunately for potential buyers getting ready for the spring market, this year’s down-payment math may be easier to calculate than expected. That’s because it appears down payments are falling. In fact, according to one recent analysis, the typical home buyer’s down payment dropped 1.5 percent at the end of last year. That was the first decrease in five months and brought the typical down payment down to 15.2 percent from 16.7 percent one year earlier.
[Source: MortgagePoint]