Randy Mack | Realtor | 707.696.6272

    Heidi Faulkner | Realtor | 707.480.4098

Artisan Sotheby's International RealtyArtisan Sotheby's International Realty

Sonoma County

  • Home
  • Featured Listings
  • Sonoma County
    • Forestville
    • Healdsburg
    • Petaluma
    • Santa Rosa
    • Sebastopol
      • Sebastapol Sold
    • Windsor
  • Search Listings
    • Listing Alerts
  • Real Estate Explained
    • Real Estate Explained For Buyers
      • Why Work With A Realtor?
      • When Choosing A Realtor
      • Understanding The Term Agency
      • How to Prepare for House Hunting
      • Prepare to Buy A Home
      • Find Your Dream Home
      • About Credit Scores
      • Improving Your Credit Score
      • Track Your Budget
      • Preparing to Finance a Home
      • Loans and Lending Terms
      • When Choosing a Lender
      • Financing a Home Creatively
      • Define Your Dream Home
      • About the Neighborhood
      • Home Finance
      • Your Home’s Value
      • Loan Analysis
      • When Considering a Condo or HOA
      • The Condo Board
      • When Choosing a Home Inspector
      • About the Home Inspection
      • About Home Hazards
      • Green Home Terms
      • About the Appraisal Process
      • About Property Tax
      • Your Mortgage Application
      • Before Making a Short Sale Offer
      • Your Short Sale Purchase Team
      • Buying in a Tight Market
      • About Homeowners Insurance
      • Lower Homeowners Insurance Costs
      • About Title Insurance
      • Track Closing Costs
      • Transaction Documents
      • Your Final Walk-Through
      • Prepare for Your Move
      • Pack Like a Pro
      • How to Move With Pets
    • Real Estate Explained For Sellers
      • 7 Reasons to Work With a REALTOR®
      • When Choosing a Realtor
      • Agency & Agency Relationships
      • When Considering Selling
      • Home Value
      • Home Staging Success
      • Calculate Capital Gains
      • Checklist Before Putting Your Home up for Sale
      • How to Hire a Remodeling Contractor
      • How to Hold a Successful Garage Sale
      • Add Curb Appeal
      • Clean When Your Home is For Sale
      • How to Prepare for the Photoshoot
      • How to Attract More Buyers
      • Checklist for a Better Home Showing
      • How to Use Feng Shui Concepts in Staging
      • What to Know About the Appraisal Process
      • How to Prepare for a Short Sale
      • How to Navigate a Short Sale
      • How to Improve the Odds of an Offer
      • How to Recognize a Qualified Buyer
      • Track Closing Costs
      • Transaction Documents
      • Prepare for Your Move
      • Pack Like a Pro
      • For the New Owners
  • Blog
  • About Us
    • Book of Services
    • Sebastopol By Design
    • Testimonials
  • Links
    • Disaster Prep Tips from professional organizations
      • Wildfire Preparation
      • Wildfire Preparation – FEMA
      • Power Outage Preparation
      • Earthquake Preparation
    • Wounded Warriors Partnership Project
    • Recommended Links
      • Recomended Service Providers

20% Down Payment Fiction vs. Sebastopol Reality

It turns out that the run of admirable national and Sebastopol home sales advances have been pulled off despite a couple of strong countercurrents. At least that’s the theme that emerges from last month’s Aspiring Home Buyers Profile report, which supplied one obvious and one not-so-obvious widespread beliefs among would-be future homeowners.

Sebastopol home buyers are always a mix of current homeowners (who will usually also be selling) and first-timers. Among the latter group, a major drag on their willingness and ability to invest in their own Sebastopol home is the student debt phenomenon. Enough has been written about that in recent years that it’s hardly a surprise: 39% of non-owners cited student loan payments as a primary reason they weren’t planning on being able to buy anytime soon.

Much less expected is the proportion of current non-owners whose reasons centered on a piece of widespread misinformation. Apparently, the same percentage—39%—were convinced that they need more than 20% of the price of a home to qualify for a loan. Another 26% believe a purchase is only possible when they can produce a down of 15%-20%—and a majority of the remainder (another 22%) think they need a down payment of at least 10% – 14%.

The chief economist for the realtor.com website summed it up concisely. “Aspiring buyers think it takes twice as much to buy a home” as it actually does in most cases. Although the actual numbers for any Sebastopol home purchase always depend on the details of the particular situation, the actual national averages will come as a shock to most. According to the latest National Association of Realtors® survey, the average down payment on a purchase mortgage was only 11% in 2016. That’s the average—in many cases, it was much lower. On Friday, CNBC’s Diana Olick quoted Attom Data Solutions’ finding that “down payments are shrinking…to a 6% average.”

That’s a pretty wide gap between common belief and current reality—one with real world implications. After all, if you assume a down payment has to be twice the amount actually required, it probably means you won’t even bother thinking about buying a house until long after you might have been able to get started. That could mean thousands of rent dollars diverted from what could have been spent on retiring a home loan. Long term, the difference would be significant.

If you are considering becoming homeowner in Sebastopol or have been putting off even thinking about it because of what could be an incorrect assumption, we hope you’ll give us a call. There is never any obligation, of course—and the old saying is absolutely true in this case: it can’t hurt to ask!

Posted in: Real Estate Trends + Stats

Post navigation

« What Luxury Real Estate Means in Sebastopol
Sharing the gold »

Share This Page

           

Sonoma Real Estate Blog

Discovering The Communities in Sonoma County

Sonoma County First-time Home Buyer Loans in 2023

Home Design Trends You Need to Know in 2023

Sonoma Holiday

Contact Information

Randy Mack and Heidi Faulkner
Artisan Sotheby's International Realty
6984 McKinley Street
Sebastopol CA 95472
(707) 696-6272
(707) 480-4098
Fax: (707) 824-0587
Send an Email
 Logo For Randy Mack and Heidi Faulkner  Real Estate

About Us

We are proud to have aligned ourselves with Artisan Sotheby’s International Realty an inspirational brand based on heritage, tradition and expertise. We are setting new standards by refining the art of residential brokerage with a practiced eye of identifying the unique value of a property. We offer a deep commitment to excellent service and have a passion for unparalleled quality. Unique homes require skillful marketing through our local expertise and Sotheby’s International Realty interconnected global network of offices that are dedicated to the extraordinary.

Testimonials

I wish to express my satisfaction and confidence in your ability to find an ideal home for anyone that I would refer to you. My own experience in purchasing and selling a home with you allowed me to witness the fact that you are truly an expert in your field, handling all aspects of residential real estate transactions. From the beginning, your market analysis to the final stages of negotiations, your calm manner and clear explanation kept me knowing I was in the best of hands.

Mr. Mitchler
More Testimonials

Contact Us

Randy Mack - Realtor CA BRE#01252462
randy@mack-faulkner.com

(707) 696-6272
6984 McKinley Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472



Heidi Faulkner - Realtor CA BRE#01227446
Heidi@mack-faulkner.com

(707) 480-4098
6984 McKinley Street
Sebastopol, CA 95472



© 2023 · Equity Framework
© MMVI Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sotheby’s International Realty® is a licensed trademark to Sotheby’s International Realty Affiliates, LLC. An Equal Opportunity Company. Equal Housing Opportunity. Each office is independently owned and operated, except offices owned and operated by NRT Incorporated. All information herein is deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
 

Listings Sitemap · Log in