By Tanza Loudenback, Business Insider
Buying a home requires a lot of planning, and it usually starts with saving for a down payment.
Experts have long recommended putting down 20% of the purchase price up front, if you can afford it, and financing the rest with a mortgage. In this case, you won't have to get private mortgage insurance (PMI) - which would require extra monthly payments on top of your mortgage - and you may get more favorable loan terms, specifically lower interest rates.
But according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR), some 60% of homebuyers put down 6% or less of the purchase price. And 58% of buyers said the money came from their savings.
While millennials may be buying cheaper homes than Gen Xers and baby boomers at a median price of $238,000, they're putting down less money up front, according to an earlier report by Realtor.com. Millennials are the generation now responsible for the largest share of new mortgages by dollar volume - they put down just 8.8% of the purchase price, on average.
We've calculated how much buyers need for a 10%, 15%, and 20% down payment based on median home sale prices in the largest US metro areas sourced from Zillow. Data on median sale price was not available for Detroit and Houston, so median listing price was used.
Even if you end up putting down less than 10%, these can be good benchmarks for saving - any money that isn't used for the down payment could go toward closing costs or insurance payments.
20. Detroit, Michigan, median home price: $189,900*
10% down payment: $18,990
15% down payment: $28,485
20% down payment: $37,980
*Median price of homes currently listed
19. Tampa, Florida, median home price: $205,200
10% down payment: $20,520
15% down payment: $30,780
20% down payment: $41,040
18. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, median home price: $208,800
10% down payment: $20,880
15% down payment: $31,320
20% down payment: $41,760
17. Atlanta, Georgia, median home price: $209,400
10% down payment: $20,940
15% down payment: $31,410
20% down payment: $41,880
16. Chicago, Illinois, median home price: $231,500
10% down payment: $23,150
15% down payment: $34,725
20% down payment: $46,300
15. Phoenix, Arizona, median home price: $240,500
10% down payment: $24,050
15% down payment: $36,075
20% down payment: $48,100
14. Baltimore, Maryland, median home price: $243,500
10% down payment: $24,350
15% down payment: $36,525
20% down payment: $48,700
13. Dallas, Texas, median home price: $250,800
10% down payment: $25,080
15% down payment: $37,620
20% down payment: $50,160
12. Minneapolis, Minnesota, median home price: $256,900
10% down payment: $25,690
15% down payment: $38,535
20% down payment: $51,380
11. Miami, Florida, median home price: $262,800
10% down payment: $26,280
15% down payment: $39,420
20% down payment: $52,560
10. Houston, Texas, median home price: $289,500*
10% down payment: $28,950
15% down payment: $43,425
20% down payment: $57,900
*Median price of homes currently listed
9. Riverside, California, median home price: $354,100
10% down payment: $35,410
15% down payment: $53,115
20% down payment: $70,820
8. Washington, DC, median home price: $380,700
10% down payment: $38,070
15% down payment: $57,105
20% down payment: $76,140
7. New York, New York, median home price: $386,600
10% down payment: $38,660
15% down payment: $57,990
20% down payment: $77,320
6. Denver, Colorado, median home price: $396,900
10% down payment: $39,690
15% down payment: $59,535
20% down payment: $79,380
5. Boston, Massachusetts, median home price: $428,900
10% down payment: $42,890
15% down payment: $64,335
20% down payment: $85,780
4. Seattle, Washington, median home price: $462,800
10% down payment: $46,280
15% down payment: $69,420
20% down payment: $92,560
3. San Diego, California, median home price: $558,100
10% down payment: $55,810
15% down payment: $83,715
20% down payment: $111,620
2. Los Angeles, California, median home price: $617,300
10% down payment: $61,730
15% down payment: $92,595
20% down payment: $123,460
1. San Francisco, California, median home price: $776,500
10% down payment: $77,650
15% down payment: $116,475
20% down payment: $155,300
