Key Takeaways Where Down Payments Stand Now Buying a home today takes more cash up front than at any point in decades. Down payments have kept climbing while borrowing costs have remained high. For homebuyers between July 2024 and June 2025, the average down payment equaled about 19% of the purchase price, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's the highest share in more than 30 years—it's roughly double what buyers were putting down in the years after the housing crash of 2008–09 and nota ...