09/25/2026
In the first quarter of 2026, down payments were highest in the Northeast, where buyers typically put down 18.1% of the purchase price, followed by the West (15.2%), Midwest (14.2%), and South (11.9%). All four regions saw declines in typical down payment shares compared with a year earlier. The West recorded the largest drop, down 1.8 percentage points year-over-year, followed by the Northeast and South (-0.4 ppts each), and the Midwest (-0.2 ppt).
https://www.realtor.com/research/down-payment-report-september-2026/
Down payments surge seasonally, but notch lowest Q2 level since 2021. The median fell to $27,100 and 13.7% in Q2 2026, down 9.2% and 0.6 ppts year-over-year, though they rose from Q1 and remained above pre-pandemic norms.