Bigger Down Payments Ruled in 2024

(4/3/25). Planning to buy a home? Financial experts recommend saving as much as you can, so you can put down a large down payment and reduce the amount of mortgage you’ll need. That’s a great way to reduce your monthly housing expenses.  

Indeed, the data seems to show that buyers are taking that advice. According to an analysis of fourth quarter 2024 down payment trends conducted by Realtor.com, the typical down payment in the fourth quarter was $30,250, ever-so-slightly below the third quarter’s level, but roughly $3,000 higher than one year prior. Last year saw the highest down payments in the data’s history, both as a dollar amount and as a percentage of the purchase price. Down payments in the fourth quarter of 2024 were 3.4 percentage points higher than prior to the pandemic (Q4 2019), emphasizing the trend toward bigger down payments.

Why the larger down payments? Buyers have been tapping pandemic-era savings, as well as their home equity. But higher home prices are driving larger down payments as well.  

“Today’s home sales are skewed toward higher-end homes, and this means larger down payments from more financially prepared high-earning buyers, as entry-level and lower-earning buyers sit out,” said Danielle Hale, Realtor.com’s chief economist, in a written statement. “As long as the market remains tilted toward buyers who are less sensitive to home prices and mortgage rates, down payments are likely to remain relatively high.”

Hale said that if mortgage rates ease, buyers at all price points will enter the market, and the incentive to minimize their home loan with a large down payment will soften.