I’ve tackled the subject of down payments for first time buyers before on this blog (you can go back here to read). I’ve also talked about some of the best ways to save for a down payment. And I’ve already discussed how to figure out how much of a down payment you’d need.
But even with all that advice, it’s become clear over time that what you folks really want are numbers. Not just how to calculate a down payment. But how much it actually is.
So, let’s finally talk about some dollars and cents.
Before I get into the numbers, I have to make some things very clear upfront.
These are not hard and fast numbers.
You should think of them like a moving target. The actual amount of your down payment will depend on factors such as:
● Apartment size
● Neighborhood
● Market activity
● Available inventory
● Interest rates
● Building type (co-op versus condo; new development versus resale)
So that being said, I’ll come back to this post from time to time to update these numbers.
We’ll break things down by bedroom size (studio, 1 bedroom, etc) and building type (co-op versus condo). These will still be very ballpark figures (especially in Brooklyn which has a wide range of prices).
And we’ll also assume a 20% down payment, even though condos will be on the list. Now, why would I do that even though condos permit 10% down? It’s because in both Manhattan and Brooklyn, it can be tricky to be competitive with other buyers or get financing if you’re trying to do less than 10%. Plus, having a cushion is helpful for other reasons, like having the option to buy in a coop and having an emergency fund left over after your down payment.
So let’s jump into the numbers
As I’ve repeated throughout these posts, these are very, very ballpark figures. And you’ve probably noticed some “quirks” within the numbers. That’s because, as I mentioned previously, what these numbers look like are heavily influenced by factors like location and available inventory.
For example, let’s compare pricing for a 1 bedroom condo in Park Slope versus pricing for a 1 bedroom condo in Bedford Stuyvesant.
The overall median for a 1 bedroom condo in Brooklyn is $675,000. In Bedford Stuyvesant, the median for that neighborhood specifically is $643,000. That tracks pretty closely with the median price.
But for Park Slope, the median is $1,030,000. That’s a huge difference. This shows that knowing what you’d need for a down payment for a median priced 1 bedroom can be helpful if you’re casting a wide net across the borough. But for specific neighborhoods, it can be misleading. It’s simply not enough information.
If you want to drill down into something specific, contact me for a customized market report for your areas of interest, and you can use that data to calculate a more specific down payment amount.
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