There is no single right number. Our clients land anywhere from about 3% down to 40 or 50%, and the best figure for you comes out of a few personal questions rather than a rule of thumb. The way we like to frame it: model a low, a middle, and a high scenario and look at the actual payment on each. A common anchor is 20% down, since conventional loans require mortgage insurance below that mark and none at 20% or more. From there we might show 35% and 50% and ask the question that matters: what would you otherwise do with the cash? Money buried in the house only comes back out through a refinance or a sale, so if you would invest it or need it as a cushion, a smaller down payment can be the smarter move even when you could afford more. A couple of factors shift the math: - Credit score drives mortgage insurance. Under 20% down on a conventional loan, a high score buys cheap MI and strong pricing, while a lower score can make MI expensive enough that a bigger down payment, or FHA, pencils better. FHA's minimum is 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or above (scores of 500 to 579 require 10% down). - Down payment changes your qualifying price, which can rule certain homes or neighborhoods in or out. Because the answer is so personal, this is exactly what we model on the free Roadmap conversation (about 20 minutes), showing you the payment at each level so you pick the one you can live with comfortably.