Saving for a down payment is getting easier. Here are 8 markets where it takes under 5 years.

SOURCE:Business Insider|BY:Jordan Pandy

The time it takes to save for a home down payment fell to about seven years in 2025. TrongNguyen/Getty Images The time to save for a typical home down payment has dropped to seven years in 2025. While time to save has dropped, it's still about double what it was pre-pandemic. There are several markets where the time it takes to save is significantly lower. Coming up with a down payment is often one of the biggest hurdles for homebuyers. The good news for homebuyers is that the time it takes to save for a down payment has decreased in recent years. The bad news is that the median down payment is still about double what it was before the pandemic. It took the typical household seven years to save for a down payment in 2025, down from a peak of 12 years in 2022, according to an analysis from Realtor.com. The analysis assumes households save 5.1% of their income — the 2025 national average savings rate — toward a down payment. However, with home prices steadily increasing in several cities around the country, the amount required for a competitive down payment is also up. "Higher home prices and intensified competition have pushed typical down payments higher, at the same time that inflation and rising household expenses have reduced savings rates," Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said. "Although conditions have improved since 2022, today's timeline shows that saving for a home takes meaningfully longer than it did before the pandemic, especially in high-cost markets." During the third quarter of 2019, the average buyer paid about $13,900 for a down payment. In the third quarter of 2025, buyers paid $30,400, according to Realtor.com. In larger metropolitan areas with extremely high home prices, it will obviously take longer to save for a down payment. According to Realtor.com, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California, housing market has the longest wait for a down payment at 36.5 years. "In high-cost markets, the typical down payment alone exceeds a full year of household income," Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said. "That reality makes homeownership feel unattainable for many buyers, particularly younger households trying to enter the market for the first time." Luckily, there are still affordable markets where it takes less than seven years to save for a down payment. Here are eight of the largest US housing markets with the shortest time to save for a down payment. 8. Tucson, AZ Tucson, Arizona Brad Holt/Getty Images Years to down payment: 4.7 Median down payment: $17,773 Median household income: $73,941 7. Oklahoma City, OK Oklahoma City, OK located in Oklahoma County Sean Pavone/Getty Images/iStockphoto Years to down payment: 4.6 Median down payment: $16,986 Median household income: $73,107 6. Jacksonville, FL Jacksonville, Florida joe daniel price/Getty Images Years to down payment: 4.2 Median down payment: $17,278 Median household income: $80,673 5. Birmingham, AL Highway 65 in Birmingham, Alabama. John Coletti/Getty Images Years to down payment: 4.2 Median down payment: $15,563 Median household income: $73,644 4. Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX Houston, Texas. Sean Pavone/Shutterstock Years to down payment: 3.5 Median down payment: $14,927 Median household income: $83,452 3. Memphis, TN-MS-AR Memphis, Tennessee. Anjelika Gretskaia/Getty Images Years to down payment: 2.5 Median down payment: $8,563 Median household income: $67,785 2. Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA Aerial view of the Virginia Beach oceanfront. Kyle J Little/Shutterstock Years to down payment: 2.0 Median down payment: $8,394 Median household income: $84,890 1. San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX The San Antonio river walk. Adam Jones/Getty Images Years to down payment: 1.3 Median down payment: $5,067 Median household income: $77,385 Read the original article on Business Insider

An aerial view of a neighborhood in New Braunfels, Texas. — The time it takes to save for a home down payment fell to about seven years in 2025.
TrongNguyen/Getty Images

The time to save for a typical home down payment has dropped to seven years in 2025.
While time to save has dropped, it's still about double what it was pre-pandemic.
There are several markets where the time it takes to save is significantly lower.

Coming up with a down payment is often one of the biggest hurdles for homebuyers. The good news for homebuyers is that the time it takes to save for a down payment has decreased in recent years. The bad news is that the median down payment is still about double what it was before the pandemic.

It took the typical household seven years to save for a down payment in 2025, down from a peak of 12 years in 2022, according to an analysis from Realtor.com. The analysis assumes households save 5.1% of their income — the 2025 national average savings rate — toward a down payment.

However, with home prices steadily increasing in several cities around the country, the amount required for a competitive down payment is also up.

"Higher home prices and intensified competition have pushed typical down payments higher, at the same time that inflation and rising household expenses have reduced savings rates," Danielle Hale, chief economist at Realtor.com, said. "Although conditions have improved since 2022, today's timeline shows that saving for a home takes meaningfully longer than it did before the pandemic, especially in high-cost markets."

During the third quarter of 2019, the average buyer paid about $13,900 for a down payment. In the third quarter of 2025, buyers paid $30,400, according to Realtor.com.

In larger metropolitan areas with extremely high home prices, it will obviously take longer to save for a down payment. According to Realtor.com, the San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, California, housing market has the longest wait for a down payment at 36.5 years.

"In high-cost markets, the typical down payment alone exceeds a full year of household income," Hannah Jones, senior economic research analyst at Realtor.com, said. "That reality makes homeownership feel unattainable for many buyers, particularly younger households trying to enter the market for the first time."

Luckily, there are still affordable markets where it takes less than seven years to save for a down payment. Here are eight of the largest US housing markets with the shortest time to save for a down payment.

8. Tucson, AZ