Which States Have the Highest Down Payments?

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According to a new report from LendingTree, the national average down payment on a home is 12.29 percent. However, in some states, home buyers are putting down even more money on their home purchase. New Jersey home buyers tend to have the highest down payments in the nation with an average 13.71 percent on the purchase price, LendingTree reports. So where did New Jersey home buyers get all their extra cash for the down payments? An article in The New York Times speculates: “There is more higher-priced housing in New Jersey than in most other states. The bigger a mortgage loan is, the greater the percentage that lenders now require in down payment.” New Jersey: 13.76% Washington, D.C.: 13.54% New York: 13.51% Hawaii: 13.37% California: 13.25%

Meanwhile, the state with the lowest 47 average down payment for residential real estate purchases is Tennessee, where down payments average 11.70 percent, according to LendingTree data.In recent weeks, some federal regulators and lawmakers have called on higher down payments — up to 20 percent — to better protect the banking industry from defaults. Given LendingTree’s data on average down payments, however, "if federal regulators were to adopt the proposed 20 percent down payment requirement, a majority of borrowers wouldn't be able to meet the standard," Doug Lebda, founder and CEO of LendingTree, said in a statement.

View a chart of a break down of down payments for all 50 states. Source: LendingTree and “State Leads Nation in Down-Payment Size,” The New York Times (Jan. 5, 2012)

Real Estate Advice and Tips

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Buyers, sellers continue to butt heads on home prices. Most Americans feel now is a good time to buy a home, but those who want to sell are having difficulty finding buyers at desired prices, causing seller sentiment to fall to record lows. Click HERE

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Buyer's market remains: With prices still falling, mortgage rates remaining historically attractive, the dynamics of the real estate market will continue to favor buyers over sellers in 2012. That means those looking to buy a home next year should not feel pressured to act impulsively, but understand that as time progresses the balance of power as we get into 2012 is going to slowly but surely shift away from [buyers]. Support, Not Sales Pressure. Agent committed to the principles of transparency, performance and value, using online tools to make the whole process easy. You control the whole process.. Click HERE

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10 keys to selling your home in 2012

10 keys to selling your home in 2012 For starters, be realistic. Make sure your initial asking price isn't too high, or else you'll waste your time and risk turning off that first rush of potential buyers.

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