Born during the Great Depression, the 20 percent down payment traditionally used to buy a house has now joined $1.50 gasoline as ancient history, the Sacramento Bee reports.
More than 1 in 5 California homebuyers now finance every cent of their home purchase, says the California Association of Realtors. Seven years ago it was 4.5 percent.
The newly released numbers reveal a shift in homebuying and lending patterns in recent years as California home prices more than doubled.
“What I notice with first-time buyers is they’re all recently married in their late 20s and early 30s. They’re the ones using 100 percent financing,” said Angela Talent, mortgage strategist with Folsom-based Strategic Financial Services.
The Realtors group also says that 41 percent of first-time homebuyers in the state have abandoned the notion of putting their own money into the deal. Nationally, percentages are even higher.
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