“Greater house costs and intensified competitors have pushed typical down funds larger, on the similar time that inflation and rising family bills have diminished financial savings price,” Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, stated in a press release.
“Though circumstances have improved since 2022, right now’s timeline exhibits that saving for a house takes meaningfully longer than it did earlier than the pandemic, particularly in high-cost markets.”
The report famous that the time wanted to avoid wasting for a down cost can take a long time in sure places, which successfully costs out giant segments of first-time and moderate-income patrons.
Actual property market dynamics are exacerbated by decrease family financial savings charges. Realtor.com stated that the typical family has saved 5.1% of their revenue in 2025, under the pre-pandemic price of 6.5% and far decrease than post-pandemic peaks that have been pushed by government stimulus efforts.
Coastal metros like San Francisco, San Jose, Los Angeles, New York, Seattle and Boston had the longest timelines to avoid wasting for a down cost.
In San Francisco, the place the median family revenue topped $132,000, the timeline stood at 36.5 years because the median down cost from January via November was greater than $245,000.
On the different finish of the spectrum, Realtor.com discovered that many Southern markets and areas with excessive utilization of U.S. Division of Veterans Affairs (VA) loans had the shortest timelines. VA loans don’t have down cost necessities, and a few lenders have begun to introduce choices that eliminate closing costs.
San Antonio led the best way with a mean financial savings timeline of only one.3 years. The median down cost for a homebuyer there in 2025 was $5,067. Markets like Atlanta, Oklahoma Metropolis, Jacksonville and Houston additionally had common timelines of lower than 5 years.
“In high-cost markets, the everyday down cost alone exceeds a full 12 months of family revenue,” stated Hannah Jones, senior financial analysis analyst for Realtor.com. “That actuality makes homeownership really feel unattainable for a lot of patrons, notably youthful households attempting to enter the marketplace for the primary time.”
