Average Down Payments Continue to Rise

CHARLOTTE, N.C., February 10, 2015 – According to a report released today by LendingTree, the nation's leading online loan marketplace, down payment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed rate purchase mortgages increased in the fourth quarter to an average of 17.59%, up from 16.01% in Q4 2013. Additionally, the average down payment amount also increased year-over-year to $47,585, up from $45,545.32 in the same quarter last year.

"The improving job market, rising home values and low mortgage rates have helped to bring borrowers with sizeable down payments in to the housing market during fourth quarter," said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. "It's encouraging to see responsible borrowing behavior. A substantial down payment will allow borrowers to build home equity, ease lender risk, avoid paying PMI and reduce monthly mortgage payments, all of which will help to further strengthen the overall economy."

An infographic released by LendingTree ranks each state according to the average down payment percentages offered to LendingTree customers from lowest to highest. The ten states with the lowest average down payment percentage for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan are:

Rank	State	Avg. Down Payment %	Avg. Down Payment
1	AR	14.70%	$31,292.96
2	ND	15.09%	$30,869.36
3	IN	15.18%	$32,306.79
4	MO	15.55%	$31,807.76
5	OH	15.62%	$31,140.24
6	AL	15.63%	$33,891.77
7	OK	15.64%	$30,991.43
8	VT	15.68%	$41,888.33
9	SD	15.83%	$27,825.98
10	KS	15.83%	$39,658.60

Three of the five markets with the highest average down payment were in California: