{"id":6586,"date":"2026-08-10T11:01:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:01:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/10\/the-case-for-putting-20-down-on-your-next-home\/"},"modified":"2026-08-10T11:01:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-10T11:01:30","slug":"the-case-for-putting-20-down-on-your-next-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sandpointrealtyidaho.com\/blog\/2026\/08\/10\/the-case-for-putting-20-down-on-your-next-home\/","title":{"rendered":"The Case for Putting 20% Down on Your Next Home"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"The\n

If you\u2019re planning to buy<\/a> your next home soon, you\u2019ve probably heard the old rule about saving 20% for your down payment.<\/p>\n

The truth is, you usually don\u2019t have to. Plenty of loan options let qualified buyers put down much less. But a lot of repeat buyers are choosing to put down 20% anyway.<\/p>\n

So, why are they if they don\u2019t have to?<\/p>\n

Two reasons. They know a bigger down payment pays off, and after years in their current house, they\u2019ve built up enough equity<\/a> that it\u2019s finally possible.<\/p>\n

Repeat Buyers Put More Money<\/strong> Down<\/strong><\/h4>\n

According to the National Association of Realtors<\/em> (NAR), the typical repeat buyer puts down 23%<\/a>when they buy a home (see graph below)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

That\u2019s more than double the 10% they may have put down as a first-time buyer<\/a>. So, how do they manage it? Their equity<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019ve owned a house for a while, two things tend to happen. One, you pay down your mortgage, and two, your home\u2019s value climbs. The difference between what you still owe on your mortgage and what your house is worth is your equity. And the longer you\u2019ve lived in your house, the bigger that number grows.<\/p>\n

When you sell, your equity turns into cash. And NAR data<\/a> shows most repeat buyers put it straight toward their next down payment (see chart below)<\/em>:<\/p>\n

\"a<\/p>\n

First-time buyers don\u2019t have that springboard yet, and that\u2019s normal. But if you already own, you may be holding more buying power than you think because of it.<\/p>\n

And if putting 20% down is finally possible, it may be worth at least considering. Here\u2019s why. Let\u2019s go over what you get in return.<\/p>\n

4 Perks of Putting 20% (or More) Down<\/strong><\/h4>\n

As Redfin <\/em>explains, putting more down pays off in a few ways:<\/p>\n

    \n
  • \n

    A smaller monthly payment.<\/strong> The more you put down, the less you borrow at today\u2019s rates. And if taking on a higher mortgage rate is one of the reasons you\u2019re debating whether to move, that\u2019s a win.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    Paying less interest. <\/strong>A smaller loan can also carry less interest across the life of your mortgage. If you put 20% down, you\u2019ll only pay interest on the remaining 80%. Put 5% down and you\u2019ll pay interest on the remaining 95%, which will cost you more over the lifetime of the loan.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    No private mortgage insurance (PMI). <\/strong>When you put down less than 20% on a conventional loan, lenders usually add a monthly fee called private mortgage insurance. With 20% down, PMI isn\u2019t required and that saves your money every month.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  • \n

    A stronger offer.<\/strong> A larger down payment can make your offer more attractive, since sellers tend to read it as a sign your financing is solid and the deal is more likely to close.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    Bottom Line<\/h3>\n

    So, no. You don\u2019t need to put 20% down to buy your next home. But you may want to. If your equity puts it within reach, going bigger can lower your costs and make moving more doable than you think \u2013 even with today\u2019s rates.<\/p>\n

    A trusted lender can run the numbers on your financing, and a local agent can help you figure out what your current house could add to your next down payment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    If you\u2019re planning to buy your next home soon, you\u2019ve probably heard the old rule about saving 20% for your down payment. The truth is, you usually don\u2019t have to. Plenty of loan options let qualified buyers put down much less. But a lot of repeat buyers are choosing to put down 20% anyway. So, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6587,"comment_status":"registered_only","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[29,27,20,18,28],"class_list":["post-6586","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-real-estate-insight","tag-idaho-real-estate","tag-north-idaho-homes","tag-rain-silverhawk","tag-real-estate","tag-sandpoint-idaho"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t