60 Percent of First-time Buyers Put Down 6% or Less

About 60 percent of first time home buyers put down 6 percent or less, according to the March REALTORS® Confidence Index. This is down from about 74 percent in 2009. Under tight underwriting standards, REALTORS® have reported that buyers who pay cash or put down large down payments generally win against those offering lower down payments. REALTORS® also reported that in some cases financing is approved for a lower amount. For buyers with sufficient financial resources, a higher down payment also results in saving on mortgage insurance premium payments.