Would-be homebuyers are finding it can take years to save a full 20% down payment, especially for anyone living near a big city, where real-estate prices are soaring. According to Zillow, the typical home value in Los Angeles is $794,935. You'd have to save $158,987 to place 20% down.
And for many millennials in particular, it's just not feasible. A survey of 1,000 Americans planning to buy a home in 2020 by the real-estate listing site Clever found that 70% of millennials planned to put down less than 20%. Twenty-seven percent planned to put down less than 10% on their home purchase. Survey data from the National Association of Realtors found that 73% of Americans who bought a home in November put down less than 20%.