New Yorkers hoping to buy their first home may need to start saving decades before they get the keys.<\/p>\n
New York City is the hardest major market in America<\/a> for first-time buyers to scrape together a down payment, with a typical household needing a staggering 65.2 years to save enough, according to a new analysis from Rocket<\/a>.<\/p>\n The median first-time buyer in the Big Apple puts down $265,000 \u2014 a 30% of the $883,333 purchase price, the analysis found.<\/p>\n At a 5% savings rate, a typical NYC household would need 65.2 years to save the amount needed. Getty Images<\/p>\n That puts New York well ahead of even notoriously expensive California markets.<\/p>\n In San Francisco<\/a>, a typical household would need 57.2 years to save the median $400,000 down payment, equivalent to roughly 27% of a $1.5 million purchase.<\/p>\n Los Angeles came in third, requiring 41.5 years to accumulate its $170,500 median down payment on an $852,500 home.<\/p>\n Boston followed at 37.8 years, with first-time buyers typically putting $185,000 down, while Anaheim and San Jose, both in pricey California, tied at 33.6 years. First-time buyers in San Jose put down a median $249,000 on a roughly $1.1 million purchase.<\/p>\n The calculation assumes a household saves 5% of its income every year. Rocket combined 2024 Census household-income data with down payments made by its first-time buyer mortgage customers between May 2025 and May 2026.<\/p>\n Boston first-time buyers need 37.8 years to save the typical $185,000 down payment. Getty Images<\/p>\n That means the eye-popping 65-year figure isn\u2019t how long New Yorkers actually spend saving. Rather, it illustrates just how far the typical household\u2019s income is from the amount first-time buyers are putting down in the city.<\/p>\n In New York, the median household income used in the analysis was $81,228, meaning saving 5% annually would amount to just over $4,000 a year.<\/p>\n The picture changes dramatically hundreds of miles west.<\/p>\n In Warren, Michigan, the median first-time buyer puts down just $8,797, or 5% of the $175,940 purchase price. A typical household could theoretically save that amount in only 3.1 years.<\/p>\n Nearby Detroit<\/a> was second-fastest at 3.9 years, where buyers put down a median $7,600 \u2014 also about 5% \u2014 on a $152,000 home.<\/p>\n Detroit first-time buyers need just 3.9 years to save the typical $7,600 down payment. Getty Images<\/p>\n Virginia Beach and Fort Worth followed at 4.3 years each, while Indianapolis and Milwaukee both came in at roughly 4.4 years.<\/p>\n The vast divide isn\u2019t solely the result of coastal homes costing more. Buyers in expensive markets are also putting a much larger share of the purchase price down.<\/p>\n In New York, first-timers put down a median 30%, six times the 5% share seen in Detroit and Warren.<\/p>\n New York\u2019s notoriously demanding co-op market may help explain the difference. Many co-op and condo buildings require buyers to put 20% to 30% down, according to Redfin agent Jason Warner.<\/p>\n \u201cThe price point is so much higher in New York City than it is in most of the country,\u201d Warner said in Rocket\u2019s report.<\/p>\n He said the hurdle has changed the profile of the city\u2019s first-time buyer.<\/p>\n \u201cSince 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.<\/p>\n Down-payment timelines vary wildly across the US. Getty Images<\/p>\n And bringing more cash to the table can matter beyond simply satisfying a lender or building.<\/p>\n With inventory tight and sellers weighing which deals are most likely to make it to closing, a hefty down payment can make an offer appear stronger, Warner said.<\/p>\n The findings come as first-time buyers nationwide continue to face a daunting affordability equation.<\/p>\n The typical US homebuyer put down $64,000, or 15% of the purchase price, in March, according to a separate Redfin analysis<\/a>. That\u2019s roughly double the dollar amount buyers were putting down before the pandemic, largely because home prices have soared.<\/p>\n And despite some recent improvement in affordability, the typical American household still earns substantially less than what\u2019s needed to comfortably buy a home.<\/p>\n