According to the latest national downpayment report released by LendingTree, average downpayment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed rate purchase mortgage offers fell slightly in the fourth quarter to an average of 17.46 percent, down slightly from 17.63 percent in the prior quarter.
Although downpayment percentages fell, the average downpayment amount climbed quarter-over-quarter to $51,721, an increase from the previous quarter's average of $48,924. The average downpayment for all purchase mortgages, including FHA, VA, non-prime and jumbo mortgages, in the second quarter was $51,663.84 or 15.19 percent of the home’s purchase price.
“The fourth quarter marked another period of housing market improvement, where home values continued to rise for most markets,” LendingTree founder and CEO Doug Lebda said in a news release. “Higher home prices mean larger downpayment amounts, even though downpayment percentages remain fairly flat. As we continue to see the housing market improve, current homeowners who have postponed a move may be more inclined to sell, creating more housing inventory for buyers across different price distributions.”
The average downpayment on an FHA mortgage in the second quarter was 8.12 percent, or $16,793, representing a slight increase from Q3 2015. The average downpayment on a jumbo mortgage was 23.67 percent, averaging just over $200,000 in Q4 2015.