Average Down Payments Rise Slightly as Housing Market Improves

Charlotte, N.C. (July 28, 2015) – According to the latest national down payments report released today by LendingTree®, a leading online loan marketplace, average down payment percentages for conventional 30-year fixed rate purchase mortgage offers rose slightly in the second quarter to an average of 17.34 percent, up from 16.98 percent in Q1 2014. The average down payment amount also rose quarter-over-quarter to $44,204, a marginal increase from the $44,007 of the previous quarter. The average down payment for all purchase mortgages, including FHA, VA, non-prime, and jumbo mortgages in the second quarter was $44,366 or 15.15 percent.

"The spring and summer home buying season naturally creates more demand in the housing market,” said Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree. "With a more competitive housing market, it is common to see down payments rise. However, we also saw volume for FHA loans increase a little over five percent quarter over quarter, signaling more first time homebuyers entering the market. For potential buyers who have been sitting on the fence, it’s still a good time to explore the housing market as interest rates remain historically low.”

The average down payment on an FHA mortgage in the second quarter was 7.86 percent, or $13,350 while the average down payment on a jumbo mortgage was 23.61 percent, or $215,909.

The above infographic released by LendingTree ranks each state according to the conventional average down payment percentages offered to LendingTree customers from lowest to highest. The ten states with the lowest average down payment percentage for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan are:

Rank	State	Quarterly Rank +/-	Down Payment %	Offered – Loan Amount (AVG)	Offered – Down Payment (AVG)
1	SD	10	14.13%	$186,379.43	$24,735.82
2	MS	6	14.17%	$182,451.22	$22,285.77
3	IA	13	14.82%	$182,669.32	$28,395.41
4	IN	6	14.90%	$174,173.52	$22,081.84
5	ME	38	15.02%	$189,121.65	$35,380.58
6	AL	-4	15.12%	$184,228.71	$31,260.09
7	DE	32	15.21%	$211,342.92	$35,441.37
8	KY	-7	15.24%	$172,052.98	$32,240.53
9	WV	-6	15.24%	$174,607.83	$27,546.33
10	OH	-3	15.29%	$186,771.90	$32,651.59

The ten states with the highest down payment percentage for a 30-year fixed rate conventional loan are:

Rank	State	Quarterly Rank +/-	Down Payment %	Offered – Loan Amount (AVG)	Offered – Down Payment (AVG)
42	FL	-1	17.58%	$206,675.78	$40,909.07
43	AK	-9	17.74%	$237,995.99	$48,509.36
44	NH	-32	18.16%	$207,659.46	$50,583.53
45	CT	1	18.62%	$222,510.51	$53,031.52
46	MA	-1	19.15%	$255,065.25	$69,323.27
47	HI	4	19.75%	$270,268.12	$61,413.95
48	NY	2	19.97%	$243,887.80	$76,101.19
49	CA	0	20.01%	$297,461.74	$70,854.17
50	NJ	-3	20.14%	$259,870.65	$59,909.15
51	DC	-3	21.03%	$354,666.67	$111,427.08

About LendingTree
LendingTree (NASDAQ: TREE) is a leading online loan marketplace with one of the largest networks of lenders in the nation, empowering consumers as they comparison-shop across a full suite of loan and credit-based offerings. LendingTree provides an online marketplace which connects consumers with multiple lenders that compete for their business, as well as an array of online tools and information to help consumers find the best loan. Since inception, LendingTree has facilitated more than 55 million loan requests. LendingTree provides free monthly credit scores through My LendingTree and access to its network of over 350 lenders offering home loans, personal loans, credit cards, student loans, personal loans, business loans, home equity loans/lines of credit, auto loans and more. LendingTree, LLC is a subsidiary of LendingTree, Inc. For more information go to www.lendingtree.com, dial 800-555-TREE, like our Facebook page and/or follow us on Twitter @LendingTree.