LendingTree’s U.S. Housing Affordability Report Q2 2016: Average Down Payments Increase Amid Busy Home Buying Season

CHARLOTTE, N.C., September 7, 2016 – According to the latest Quarterly Housing Affordability Report released today by LendingTree®, a leading online loan marketplace, average down payment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed rate purchase mortgage offers rose slightly in the second quarter to an average of 17.13 percent. This represents an increase from the prior quarter (16.64%) and a slight decline from the same period last year (17.34%). The average down payment amount also fell quarter-over-quarter, from $51,721 to an average $49,839, but increased year-over-year from $44,007.

The average down payment percentage and amount for all purchase mortgages, including FHA, VA, non-prime, and jumbo mortgages in the second quarter increased slightly quarter-over-quarter from 12.18 percent and $44,058 to 12.33 percent and $44,080.85, respectively.

"The housing marketing is experiencing growth with sales of new and existing homes climbing year-over-year," said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. "Low mortgage rates, steady job growth and more options for affordable and entry-level are attracting home buyers to the market. Interestingly, we saw a 43.2 percent increase in loan requests from first-time home buyers year over year. With competition in many markets heating up, down payment percentages are trending upwards, making a transaction more attractive to sellers and giving buyers a head start in building equity in their new home."

The average down payment on an FHA mortgage in the first quarter was 8.12 percent, or $16,793.13, representing a slight increase from Q2 2015. The average down payment on a jumbo mortgage was 23.91 percent, or $162,500 in the second quarter.

The complete set of LendingTree's Quarterly Housing Affordability Rankings for Q2 2016 can be downloaded here:
By Down Payment Percentage
By Down Payment Amount
By Monthly Payment Amount

Affordability by Average Down Payment Percentages
In the excerpt chart data below, LendingTree has ranked each state according to the average down payment percentages offered to LendingTree customers for a conventional mortgage. The ten states with the lowest average down payment percentage for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan are:
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