15 Cities Where Homebuyers Make the Biggest Down Payments

Editor's Note: This story originally appeared on Inspection Support Network.

Two years since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the U.S. housing market remains in the midst of a historic frenzy.

With low interest rates, strong savings and investment returns throughout most of the pandemic, and the millennial generation reaching peak home-buying age, the market has seen a rush of buyers competing for homes and driving prices to record heights. And while interest rate hikes over the remainder of 2022 could discourage would-be buyers, the U.S. also faces a shortage of housing supply that is unlikely to be resolved anytime soon.

According to data from mortgage backer Freddie Mac, the U.S. has a deficit of 3.8 million housing units. And with global supply chains still recovering from pandemic disruptions and inflation driving costs higher, new housing stock is likely to be more time-consuming and more expensive to build for the foreseeable future.

Nationwide, the percentage of buyers who put more than 20% down rose from 43.5% in 2019 to 53.3% in 2020. And these larger down payments are especially common in more expensive, competitive housing markets. In 24 of the 25 markets with the highest median property values in the U.S., a majority of homebuyers have made down payments of greater than 20%.

The trend toward offers with more money down on the mortgage could put homeownership further out of reach for younger and lower-income buyers. Older and higher-income people are more likely to have greater savings or existing equity to put toward a home loan.

To determine the metros where homebuyers put down the most down on a purchase, researchers at Inspection Support Network analyzed the latest data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. The researchers ranked metro areas by the percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down. More on our methodology is at the end.

Here are the U.S. metropolitan areas where people are putting the most down on their home purchases.

15. Providence-Warwick, RI-MA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 42.8%
• Median down payment amount: $60,000
• Median loan amount: $285,000
• Median property value: $345,000
• Median interest rate: 3.250%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 50.5%

14. Salt Lake City, UT

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 43.1%
• Median down payment amount: $70,000
• Median loan amount: $325,000
• Median property value: $395,000
• Median interest rate: 3.250%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 62.5%

13. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 45.1%
• Median down payment amount: $80,000
• Median loan amount: $395,000
• Median property value: $485,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 65.6%

12. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 46.4%
• Median down payment amount: $80,000
• Median loan amount: $375,000
• Median property value: $455,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 67.1%

11. Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown, TX

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 46.4%
• Median down payment amount: $70,000
• Median loan amount: $295,000
• Median property value: $375,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 47.6%

10. Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 47.0%
• Median down payment amount: $110,000
• Median loan amount: $475,000
• Median property value: $605,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 77.4%

9. Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 47.8%
• Median down payment amount: $90,000
• Median loan amount: $385,000
• Median property value: $475,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 66.2%

8. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 47.9%
• Median down payment amount: $80,000
• Median loan amount: $355,000
• Median property value: $455,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 60.6%

7. Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach, FL

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 48.4%
• Median down payment amount: $60,000
• Median loan amount: $305,000
• Median property value: $375,000
• Median interest rate: 3.250%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 51.0%

6. Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 48.5%
• Median down payment amount: $100,000
• Median loan amount: $425,000
• Median property value: $545,000
• Median interest rate: 3.000%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 70.0%

5. New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 51.6%
• Median down payment amount: $100,000
• Median loan amount: $405,000
• Median property value: $525,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 66.7%

4. San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 53.8%
• Median down payment amount: $140,000
• Median loan amount: $515,000
• Median property value: $675,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 88.0%

3. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 56.2%
• Median down payment amount: $170,000
• Median loan amount: $585,000
• Median property value: $755,000
• Median interest rate: 3.125%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 96.1%

2. San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 60.9%
• Median down payment amount: $250,000
• Median loan amount: $725,000
• Median property value: $995,000
• Median interest rate: 3.000%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 109.1%

1. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA

• Percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down: 66.8%
• Median down payment amount: $290,000
• Median loan amount: $765,000
• Median property value: $1,155,000
• Median interest rate: 2.990%
• Median down payment to income percentage: 120.0%

Methodology

To determine the metros that put down the most down on their home purchases, researchers at Inspection Support Network analyzed the latest data from the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council’s Home Mortgage Disclosure Act. Only conventional, home purchase loans that originated in 2020 were considered in the analysis. The researchers ranked metro areas by the percentage of buyers putting more than 20% down. In the event of a tie, the metro with the larger median down payment amount was ranked higher. To improve relevance, only metropolitan areas with at least 100,000 residents were included. Additionally, metros were grouped into cohorts based on population size: small (100,000–349,999), midsize (350,000–999,999), and large (1,000,000 or more).