{"id":282793,"date":"2026-06-30T21:08:08","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/282793\/"},"modified":"2026-06-30T21:08:08","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T21:08:08","slug":"first-time-buyers-in-new-york-city-need-65-years-to-save-for-a-down-payment-new-data-shows","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/282793\/","title":{"rendered":"First-time buyers in New York City need 65 years to save for a down payment, new data shows"},"content":{"rendered":"

Aspiring homeowners in the Big Apple better get comfortable renting.<\/p>\n

Your average New Yorker would need a staggering 65 years to scrape together the median down payment for a first home, according to a new analysis from Rocket Mortgage<\/a>, while buyers in parts of the Midwest can hit that same milestone in under four years.<\/p>\n

The eye-popping gap comes down to one brutal math problem. <\/p>\n

First-time buyers in New York City are typically putting down 30% of<\/a> their purchase price, an average of $265,000, on a median home priced at $883,333.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A new Rocket Mortgage analysis finds that a typical New York City household would need 65 years to save the median first-time homebuyer down payment of $265,000, by far the longest timeline in the nation. Roni \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

In Detroit, by contrast, first-timers are putting down roughly 5%, just $7,600 on average, letting them save up in 3.9 years. Nearby Warren, Michigan, is even faster at 3.1 years for an $8,797 down payment.<\/p>\n

San Francisco and Los Angeles aren\u2019t far behind New York in pain. The City by the Bay requires around 57 years to save a $400,000 down payment, while Los Angeles buyers need 41.5 years to amass $170,500.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Boston, Anaheim and San Jose round out the list of markets where homeownership feels generations away.<\/p>\n

The steep figure stems from local buying norms, with first-timers in the city typically putting down 30% of a home\u2019s purchase price compared to roughly 5% in more affordable markets. deberarr \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Rocket\u2019s analysis crunched first-time homebuyer <\/a>mortgage data from loans closed between May 20, 2025, and May 19, 2026, pairing it with median household income figures from the Census Bureau\u2019s 2024 American Community Survey. <\/p>\n

Researchers assumed a household socking away 5 percent of its annual income toward a down payment fund each year.<\/p>\n

On the flip side, the fastest markets to save up are clustered in the Midwest and South.\u00a0No shocker there.<\/p>\n

It\u2019ll take 4.3 years to save up for a $20,450 down payment in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while Fort Worth, Texas, needs the same 4.3 years for $17,867. <\/p>\n

Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Columbus and West Palm Beach round out the top 10 fastest markets, all clocking in under 5.5 years.<\/p>\n

In New York City, where a hefty down payment has become almost a requirement to compete, Redfin agent Jason Warner said he\u2019s increasingly fielding clients well past their twenties.<\/p>\n

San Francisco trails close behind at 57.2 years. travelview \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

\u201cThe price point is so much higher in New York City than it is in most of the country. Since it takes a bit longer for first-time home buyers to save here, I\u2019m now often helping mid-career professionals in their late 30s and early 40s to buy their first home after decades of renting,\u201d Warner said in the report.<\/p>\n

Warner pointed to a tight inventory squeeze as another factor pushing buyers to make bigger down payments.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew York City is competitive by its nature, and inventory is squeezed right now because a lot of homeowners are locked in by low mortgage rates they got during the pandemic,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cSellers are looking not only for the highest offer, but for the one that\u2019s most likely to close quickly and easily. A high down payment signals to the seller that you have the funds needed to close and you\u2019re committed to the home,\u201d the agent said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile a high down payment might not be as strong as an all-cash offer, it is a sign that a lender is likely going to be able to come through with funding your loan on time because you have cash handy and finances in order.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Los Angeles, it now takes first-time homebuyers 41.5 years to save for a down payment. Unwind \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Warner added that the city\u2019s co-op and condo boards often leave buyers no choice in the matter, frequently demanding 20 to 30 percent down before they\u2019ll even consider an application.<\/p>\n

Fellow New York City Redfin agent Steve K. Kazoleas said family money is increasingly bridging the gap for his clients.\u00a0<\/p>\n

A 2025 Redfin survey found nearly 24 percent of young Americans<\/a> who recently bought a home leaned on relatives to help fund their down payment.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany of the first-time home buyers I\u2019ve been working with are spending years saving, while at the same time they\u2019re dealing with high rental costs, which ultimately makes it hard for them to build wealth. As a result, I\u2019ve been seeing buyers expand their searches,\u201d Kazoleas said in the report.<\/p>\n

Midwest and Southern metros offer a far faster path to homeownership, led by Warren, Michigan, at 3.1 years and Detroit at 3.9 years, where down payments average just $7,600 to $8,800. searagen \u2013 stock.adobe.com<\/p>\n

Still, Kazoleas warned against buyers stretching themselves too thin just to land a deal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always encourage buyers to leave room in their budget for unexpected repairs, life events and things that might come up. Homeownership should improve your financial future, not create financial stress in your life. You should be living in your home, not for your home,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Bill Banfield, Chief Business Officer at Rocket Mortgage, said the key for first-timers anywhere is starting the conversation early, long before they\u2019re ready to make an offer.<\/p>\n

\u201cReducing the time it takes to save for a down payment isn\u2019t just about earning more or spending less. It\u2019s also about understanding the options that are available,\u201d Banfield told The Post.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cMany first-time buyers don\u2019t realize they may qualify for low-down-payment loans or assistance programs that can substantially reduce the amount of cash they need at closing. Beyond setting aside money each month, directing annual bonuses, tax refunds or other windfalls toward a down payment fund can also help buyers reach their goal faster.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Aspiring homeowners in the Big Apple better get comfortable renting. Your average New Yorker would need a staggering…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":282794,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[1586,433,6675,3365,68,5013,1722,9,24,55,54,56,6844,1491,564,4753,3006,11322],"class_list":["post-282793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-affordability","tag-affordable-housing","tag-analysis","tag-economy","tag-exclusive","tag-homeowners","tag-markets","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-new-york-city-headlines","tag-new-york-city-news","tag-ny","tag-payments","tag-real-estate","tag-rent","tag-rentals","tag-residential-real-estate","tag-study-says"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282793","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=282793"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/282793\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/282794"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=282793"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=282793"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=282793"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}