New Yorkers Have the Highest Down Payments in the Country

March 20, 2015 — Right before Christmas last year, Freddie Mac announced a new loan program called Home Possible Advantage, which would let potential condo buyers borrow up to 97 percent of an apartment's value — a 3 percent down payment. Fannie Mae also has a similar program that allows qualified buyers to pony up a 3 percent down payment. But it looks like bad news for anyone trying to take advantage of these deals in New York. According to the Daily News, the average down payment in New York City is — hold onto your hats — nearly $350K. "This was supposed to be the year of millennials and first-time homebuyers," writes the Daily News, but "low down payment loans accounted for just 7% of all home purchases in the top 25 U.S. housing markets by price, including New York, in 2014, according to a new report [compiled by RealtyTrac]. The average down payment for homes in those markets was $138,547, or 24% of the total purchase price." That's just the way it is in high-priced markets. A first-time buyer's best bet for a low down payment: Nashville, Philadelphia, Des Moines, Little Rock and Columbus, or Ohio, according to RealtyTrac's report. That's one hell of a commute.