Tag Archives: Low Down Payment Mortgages

In today’s real estate market, every dollar counts, especially for low- to moderate-income homebuyers. Guild Mortgage’s new product buys down the mortgage interest rate for the first year and only requires a 1% down payment.

The correlation between the asking price and the size of the down payment is behaving as expected—as the housing market has cooled over the past year, down payment amounts are down by 10%.

Among renters and non-homeowners, many believe that the once-standard down payment of 20% is a rule, not a recommendation, on the path to homeownership.

For some first-time buyers and low- to moderate-income buyers, these programs may be beneficial while for others it may not be a viable substitute for FHA lending, according to the Urban Institute.