The Median Down Payment Dropped 19% in One Year

May 22, 2026

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Realtor.com's Q1 2026 down payment report shows the median down payment just hit a 4-year low. Here's what agents need to know.

The typical down payment on a home purchase just hit its lowest point since 2021.

Down payments have fallen for four consecutive quarters, and the buyers coming back into the market look different than the ones who were buying two years ago. They’re stretching further to get in, and that’s changing what conversations with clients need to look like.

Realtor.com’s Q1 2026 down payment report breaks down exactly what’s happening and where. Here’s what the data shows and what to do with it.

Four Consecutive Quarters of Declining Down Payments

The median down payment in Q1 2026 came in at $23,400, down 19% from a year ago. As a share of purchase price, it fell to 12.8%, the lowest it’s been since 2021.

Down payments have dropped every quarter since peaking in Q3 2025, and the April 2026 data shows a seasonal uptick that’s still well below where things stood a year ago.

Q3 2025 peak: $30,400 and 14.4%
Q1 2026: $23,400 and 12.8%, down 19% year-over-year
April 2026: $25,000 and 13.2%, below April 2025’s $27,500 and 13.8%

That said, down payments are still above pre-pandemic norms. Back in Q1 2019, the median was $12,500 and 10.7%. What’s happened over the past several years is buyers pushed down payments higher to compete in a low-inventory, fast-moving market.

In many markets, buyers don’t need to play that game anymore. Inventory has gone up year-over-year for 28 straight months. Price growth is cooling.

When buyers have more room to breathe, they don’t have to lead with an outsized down payment to lock down an affordable mortgage.

Who Is Actually Buying Right Now?

The buyers coming back into the market aren’t coming back from a position of strength. The median buyer FICO score is 733, which is still above pre-pandemic norms, but it’s been slipping since late 2025.

Also, more of these buyers are leaning on government-backed financing to make deals work.

FHA loans have held above 24% of purchase mortgages for five consecutive quarters, the longest stretch at that level since 2016
VA loans hit 11.7% in early 2026, their highest share in over a decade
FHA and VA together now account for more than a third of all purchase mortgages
The conforming loan share has fallen to its lowest level since 2019

More buyers in the market sounds like good news, and in some ways it is. But agents need to understand what’s driving it. These aren’t buyers who saved up a 20% down payment and locked in a great rate. They’re buyers who are stretching to get in, using lower down payment requirements and more flexible underwriting to clear the bar.

One number worth watching: mortgage delinquencies are rising, especially in the FHA segment.

When buyers enter with thinner down payments and softer credit, they have less cushion if something goes wrong.

Breaking It Down by Region

Down payments aren’t moving the same way everywhere, and where you work should shape how you’re talking to clients right now.

The Northeast is still the most competitive market in the country. Buyers there are putting down 17.3% on average, with a median dollar amount of $57,600. That’s up 236.8% since Q1 2019, by far the largest seven-year jump of any region.

The Midwest is the only region that saw its down payment share tick up year-over-year, a sign competition there hasn’t let up much either.

The South and West look very different. Inventory has recovered more fully in both regions, giving buyers more negotiating room and less pressure to lead with a big down payment.

Northeast: 17.3% average share, median $57,600, down 6.8% year-over-year
West: 15.2% average share, median $43,700, down 18.2% year-over-year
Midwest: 13.6% average share, median $23,400, up 0.1 percentage points year-over-year
South: 11.1% average share, median $21,100, down 1.2 percentage points year-over-year

Another layer to this: the South and Midwest now account for more than 71% of all home sales across the U.S. More transactions are happening in lower down payment markets, which is pulling the national average down.

What Agents Should Do With This Data

The renter pool tells you a lot about where buyer demand is actually coming from. Most renters don’t have anywhere near enough saved to hit the conventional median down payment of $23,400. But a meaningful slice of them can clear the FHA threshold.

The typical renter has $2,600 to $2,900 in accessible assets
Roughly 15 to 20% of renters could cover the $23,400 conventional median down payment
Roughly 20 to 26% could clear the FHA threshold of $14,875 on a median-priced home

That’s the buyer you’re increasingly working with. FHA and VA conversations need to be part of how you’re showing up with leads.

On the seller side, nearly 40% of sellers now expect to make concessions, up from 30% in 2025.

Spring and summer 2026 will be the real test. If down payments don’t climb toward the 14–15% range by summer, the softening agents are seeing in many markets isn’t going away anytime soon.

Key Details:

Realtor.com’s Q1 2026 down payment report found the median down payment fell to $23,400, down 19% year-over-year and the lowest level since 2021.
FHA and VA loans now account for more than a third of all purchase mortgages, with VA share hitting its highest level in over a decade.
Nearly 40% of sellers now expect to make concessions, up from 30% in 2025.

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Chuck Barberini Real Estate