Size the down payment to your finances, and use a slow market for negotiating leverage instead. A softer market does not, by itself, argue for more or less down. What it gives you is room to negotiate: a lower price, a seller credit toward closing costs, maybe a seller-paid buydown if the math genuinely works. (We stay cautious on buydowns as a rule, and that comparison is something we can run for you.) The down-payment decision itself runs on the same factors it always does: - More down lowers the payment and can shrink or remove mortgage insurance once you cross the equity thresholds. But each extra dollar moves the monthly payment only modestly, and the cash becomes hard to reach without a refinance or home equity line. - More cash in reserve means more cushion, and a cushion matters most in exactly the kind of uncertain market that prompts this question. So protect your liquidity, negotiate hard on price and credits, and let the negotiation do the market-timing work. The right down payment fits your payment comfort, your reserves, and your loan program, in any market.