Press release
Realtor.com®: Down Payments Steady as Average FICO Scores Remain At 10-Year High
Continued high prices and mortgage rates in the third quarter of 2025 kept many homebuyers on the sidelines, while higher-income buyers continued to drive
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[{"type":"text","content":"\n Continued high prices and mortgage rates in the third quarter of 2025 kept many homebuyers on the sidelines, while higher-income buyers continued to drive upper-tier sales\n \n \n AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 20, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Down payments remained relatively flat in the third quarter, as the housing market continued to balance elevated costs with moderating demand. According to the latest Realtor.com® Down Payment Report, the typical down payment in Q3 2025 was $30,400 – about $500 higher than Q2 and roughly unchanged from a year earlier. The average down payment share remained near 14.4% of the purchase price.\n Historically, down payments pick up steam through the first half of the year, but 2025's gain was more modest. Between the first and third quarters, the typical down payment rose just 0.5 percentage points, or $1,500, compared with 0.8 points and $4,000 during the same period in 2024, reflecting a steadier market with stable prices and more measured buyer demand.\n \"Down payments remain elevated but steady, reflecting the broader housing environment,\" said Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com®. \"High prices and borrowing costs continue to test affordability, keeping many potential buyers on the sidelines and slowing overall sales activity. Even with mortgage rates easing into the low 6% range in recent months, the combination of high prices and limited inventory has left little relief for cost-sensitive home shoppers, while increasingly concentrating homebuying among higher-income households.\"\n \n Down Payments Remain Elevated Post-PandemicBuyers continue to put down far more cash than before the pandemic. The median down payment of $30,400 is 117.9% higher than in Q3 2019, when buyers typically put down $13,900. That increase reflects both higher home prices, which have risen nearly 45% since 2019, and larger down payment shares.\n Down payments climbed steeply between 2020 and 2022 amid more intense competition and record-low mortgage rates, then leveled off at about 14% to 15% of purchase price. While the market has cooled since then, elevated prices and financially strong buyers have kept typical down payments in the upper $20,000 to low $30,000 range.\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Primary Residence\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Avg Down Payment as % of Purchase Price\n \n \n \n \n \n \n Med. Down Payment ($ amt)\n \n ...