According to American Financing’s Mortgages in America Survey 53 percent of those responding believed that a 10 percent down payment was ideal. Nationwide, the average down payment in the second quarter of 2017 was 7.3 percent. San Francisco and San Jose homebuyers averaged down payments of over 20 percent, the highest in the country.
American Finance points out that lenders typically charge higher mortgage insurance premiums to borrowers who make smaller down payments so that those putting down 10 percent may actually pay more in the long run.
Of course, Bay Area homebuyers are competing with those who can afford to purchase with all cash (estimated to be 26 percent below $1 million and 46 percent above $3 million).
Leave a Reply