Downpayments at Record Highs; Automated Appraisals Don’t Paint Whole Picture; Tax Bill Doubts Help Rates

Downpayments at Record Highs; Automated Appraisals Don’t Paint Whole Picture; Tax Bill Doubts Help Rates

Homebuyers ponied up the highest downpayments on record to purchase homes in the third quarter of 2017. ATTOM Data Solutions' (formerly RealtyTrac) Residential Property Loan Origination Report says that the median down payment for a single-family home or condo purchased with financing during the quarter rose to $20,000 from $18,162 in the second quarter of this year. In the third quarter of last year the median was $14,400. The most recent number is the highest in ATTOMs records which date back to 2000. The $20,000 downpayment represents 7.6 percent of the median sales price during the quarter of $263,000. The percentage amount was also a recent high, up from 7.1 percent the previous quarter and 6.1 percent in the third quarter of 2016. It was the highest downpayment percentage since the third