Philly region is one of the places where down payments for homes increased the most in 2024

Last year, homebuyers across the country spent more money on down payments than they ever have, with the up-front costs soaring in the Northeast.

The metropolitan area that includes Philadelphia, Camden, and Wilmington had one of the biggest increases from 2023 in the amount of money homebuyers put down to purchase their homes, according to an analysis of the country’s 100 largest metros by Realtor.com.

In the Philadelphia region, there aren’t enough homes on the market to meet demand from buyers, which has driven up prices and fueled competition. Buyer competition — including from people drawn to the region for its relative affordability — and rising costs drove increases in down payments.

The median down payment in the Philadelphia metro area was $52,406 in 2024. That’s up 32% from 2023.

» READ MORE: Philly home sellers still have the upper hand as most of the country shifts to a buyer’s market

Only three other large metro areas had roughly the same or slightly higher increases: San Diego, Cincinnati, and New Orleans.

“Today’s high [mortgage interest] rate environment is reshaping the homebuying landscape,” Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said in a statement. “Higher borrowing costs and affordability pressures have led to a market where financially prepared buyers are putting more money down, especially in competitive regions with limited inventory.”

In other words, aspiring homebuyers who would put down less money are being priced out of the market, which favors high-earning buyers who can afford to make bigger down payments to purchase more expensive homes.

In 2024, down payments soared in the Northeast and Midwest, where buyer demand remains high and housing supply remains too low.

Down payments fell in only eight states. Many of them are in the South and West, according to Realtor.com.

» READ MORE: For $300,000, you could buy a home in Philly or make the typical down payment in San Jose

The biggest drops were in Texas and Florida, among the places where people flocked during the pandemic. Down payments dropped in part because markets that saw increased demand have since cooled off and home prices have fallen or stayed flat.

Delaware is the state where down payments increased the most from 2023 to 2024. In the First State, they rose about 39% to a median of $49,219. The average down payment was 18.5% of the purchase price.