The median first-time buyer in the Big Apple puts down $265,000 — a 30% of the $883,333 purchase price, the analysis found.
asserted
analysis → put → price
That puts New York well ahead of even notoriously expensive California markets.
asserted
That → put → markets
In San Francisco, a typical household would need 57.2 years to save the median $400,000 down payment, equivalent to roughly 27% of a $1.5 million purchase.
asserted
household → need → purchase
Los Angeles came in third, requiring 41.5 years to accumulate its $170,500 median down payment on an $852,500 home.
asserted
Angeles → come → home
Boston followed at 37.8 years, with first-time buyers typically putting $185,000 down, while Anaheim and San Jose, both in pricey California, tied at 33.6 years.
asserted
Anaheim → follow → years
First-time buyers in San Jose put down a median $249,000 on a roughly $1.1 million purchase.
asserted
buyers → put → purchase
The calculation assumes a household saves 5% of its income every year.
asserted
household → assume → income
Rocket combined 2024 Census household-income data with down payments made by its first-time buyer mortgage customers between May 2025 and May 2026.
uncertain
Rocket → combine → May
That means the eye-popping 65-year figure isn’t how long New Yorkers actually spend saving.
asserted
Yorkers → mean → ?
Rather, it illustrates just how far the typical household’s income is from the amount first-time buyers are putting down in the city.
asserted
buyers → illustrate → city
In New York, the median household income used in the analysis was $81,228, meaning saving 5% annually would amount to just over $4,000 a year.
asserted
saving → use → 4,000
The picture changes dramatically hundreds of miles west.
asserted
picture → change → miles
In Warren, Michigan, the median first-time buyer puts down just $8,797, or 5% of the $175,940 purchase price.
asserted
buyer → put → price
A typical household could theoretically save that amount in only 3.1 years.
uncertain
household → save → years
Nearby Detroit was second-fastest at 3.9 years, where buyers put down a median $7,600 — also about 5% — on a $152,000 home.
asserted
buyers → put → home
Virginia Beach and Fort Worth followed at 4.3 years each, while Indianapolis and Milwaukee both came in at roughly 4.4 years.
asserted
Indianapolis → follow → years
The vast divide isn’t solely the result of coastal homes costing more.
asserted
homes → cost → more
Buyers in expensive markets are also putting a much larger share of the purchase price down.
asserted
Buyers → put → price
In New York, first-timers put down a median 30%, six times the 5% share seen in Detroit and Warren.
asserted
timers → put → Detroit
New York’s notoriously demanding co-op market may help explain the difference.
uncertain
market → help → difference
Many co-op and condo buildings require buyers to put 20% to 30% down, according to Redfin agent Jason Warner.
uncertain
buildings → require → Warner
“The price point is so much higher in New York City than it is in most of the country,” Warner said in Rocket’s report.
asserted
Warner → say → report
He said the hurdle has changed the profile of the city’s first-time buyer.
asserted
hurdle → say → buyer
“Since it takes a bit longer for first-time home buyers to save here, I’m now often helping mid-career professionals in their late 30s and early 40s to buy their first home after decades of renting,” Warner said.
asserted
Warner → take → renting
And bringing more cash to the table can matter beyond simply satisfying a lender or building.
asserted
bringing → bring → lender
With inventory tight and sellers weighing which deals are most likely to make it to closing, a hefty down payment can make an offer appear stronger, Warner said.
asserted
Warner → weigh → closing
The findings come as first-time buyers nationwide continue to face a daunting affordability equation.
asserted
buyers → come → equation
The typical US homebuyer put down $64,000, or 15% of the purchase price, in March, according to a separate Redfin analysis.
uncertain
homebuyer → put → analysis
That’s roughly double the dollar amount buyers were putting down before the pandemic, largely because home prices have soared.
asserted
prices → ’ → pandemic
And despite some recent improvement in affordability, the typical American household still earns substantially less than what’s needed to comfortably buy a home.
asserted
what → earn → home
Redfin estimated in June that a household needed to make about $109,800 a year to afford the typical US home, compared with an estimated median household income of about $87,600.
asserted
household → estimate → 87,600
For New Yorkers, the gap is even wider: Redfin estimates a buyer needs to earn roughly $233,000 to afford a typical home in the metro, while its estimated median household income is about $98,000.
asserted
income → estimate → metro
For would-be buyers who don’t have decades to wait, family assistance has increasingly become part of the equation.
asserted
assistance → have → equation
Rocket’s analysis cited a Redfin survey finding that nearly a quarter of young recent homebuyers had used family money toward their down payment.
asserted
quarter → cite → payment
Others are widening their searches or adjusting their expectations.
But for buyers determined to stay in New York, the numbers illustrate the extraordinary amount of cash it can take just to get through the front door.
asserted
it → widen → door
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