AURORA, Colo. – Although a 20 percent down payment is required to avoid mortgage insurance premiums on home purchases, a 10 percent down payment is seen by most Americans as the ideal amount.
This, according to a survey released last week by American Financing, a national mortgage banker. Its 2017 Mortgages in America Survey examined mortgage, renting, and homeownership trends and preferences among U.S. generations.
Fifty-three percent of survey respondents, including those in the millennial, Generation X and baby-boomer age groups, preferred a 10 percent down payment over larger amounts, according to the survey.
Many prospective homeowners are looking for the lowest cost options, but may not be aware of the impact of private mortgage insurance, American Survey reported.
In other trends, homeownership rates varied by age according to the respondents.
Less than 24 percent of responding millennials said they owned their own home, compared to just under 50 percent of Generation X respondents. More than three-quarters of baby boomers said they were homeowners.
Mary MacDonald is a staff writer for the PBN. Contact her at MacDonald@PBN.com.
