The size of typical downpayments shrank year over year in March across the 40 most populous U.S. metros, signaling that as housing affordability challenges persist, buyers are keen to keep some cash on hand.
That’s the takeaway offered by Redfin, which reported on Tuesday that the typical homebuyer purchasing in March used a $64,000 downpayment in March, a 1.5% decline from a year ago. The online real estate brokerage was acquired in 2025 by Rocket Companies, parent company of Rocket Mortgage.
“The buyer-friendly market is reducing pressure on house hunters to make large down payments to strengthen offers in bidding wars,” said the report, meaning that buyers “now have more flexibility to leave cash in their pockets for things like moving expenses, renovations or future monthly payments.”
The U.S. housing markets has grown increasingly fragmented following the post-pandemic housing boom, warped by mortgage rate lock-in effects keeping homeowners with rock-bottom mortgage rates sidelined. Regional home price trends have seen Midwest and Northeast markets continue to post solid gains, as softening spreads impact metros in the South and West.
Experts tell Scotsman Guide that local trends are ultimately dictating how purchase borrowers are adjusting to volatile mortgage rates and uneven housing market conditions this spring.
Consumers’ economic outlooks have also broadly deteriorated over the past year. Geopolitical tensions, tariffs, job anxieties linked to AI advancements and now the global energy shock fueled by the ongoing war in Iran have heaped uncertainty onto their future plans.
But as a percentage of home sale prices, the downpayment share that fell to 15% in March from 16.1% a year ago still remains well above pre-pandemic norms, Redfin noted.
The company’s analysis of country-level data across 40 markets show typical downpayment amounts never exceeded $35,000 from 2014 through 2019. Since mid-2024, typical downpayments have not dropped below $60,000.
In percentage terms, typical downpayment share of list price was around 10% from 2015 to 2020, before rising steadily to its current range between 15% and 20% in recent years.
The trend is a sign that recent years of rapid home price appreciation and elevated mortgage rates compared to the past decade have shifted access to homeownership up the wealth ladder. As a national shortage of single-family homes helps to keep home prices elevated, middle-income earners are increasingly sidelined.
The median downpayment share of list price declined in 18 of the 40 metros analyzed by Redfin, with the largest decreases observed in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Las Vegas and Atlanta. Downpayment percentages fell from 20.5% a year ago to 16% in Fort Lauderdale, from 10% to 6% in Las Vegas, and from about 10% to 7% in Atlanta.
Redfin also reported recently an analysis that showed the lowest March share of all-cash home purchases since 2020, as a result of a buyer-friendly market combined with economic uncertainty.
