The Cities with the Lowest Down Payments

A new report from Zillow Research found that homebuyers in Atlanta and Phoenix are more likely to pay 5 percent or less on a down payment.

According to the report, 44.5 percent of Atlanta buyers and 36.9 percent of Phoenix buyers put down 5 percent or less when buying a home. Nationally, only 24.2 percent of homebuyers have that small of a down payment, while 43.2 percent put down the recommended 20 percent or more.

Interestingly, buyers in the three metros with higher monthly mortgage payments are more likely to put down 20 percent or more. In Chicago, it’s 52.1 percent of buyers; in San Francisco, 50.7 percent of buyers; and in Washington, D.C., 43.8 percent. All three are above the national share of 43.2 percent of buyers who put that much down.

Most home buyers in the United States and each of the surveyed metros used savings for their down payments. For the U.S. as a whole, 70 percent of mortgage buyers use at least some savings for their down payments. In all five major metros that we examined, the share was similar or greater: 82.5 percent in San Francisco, 79.2 percent in Phoenix, 78.8 percent and Washington, D.C., 75.3 percent in Chicago and 73 percent in Atlanta.

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