Exclusive | Itll take 65 years to save for a down payment in NYC but less than 4 in this popular city, new data shows

Aspiring homeowners in the Big Apple better get comfortable renting.Your average New Yorker would need a staggering 65 years to scrape together the median down payment for a first home, according to a new analysis from Rocket Mortgage, while buyers in parts of the Midwest can hit that same milestone in under four years.The eye-popping gap comes down to one brutal math problem.First-time buyers in New York City are typically putting down 30% of their purchase price, an average of $265,000, on a median home priced at $883,333. In Detroit, by contrast, first-timers are putting down roughly 5%, just $7,600 on average, letting them save up in 3.9 years.

Nearby Warren, Michigan, is even faster at 3.1 years for an $8,797 down payment.San Francisco and Los Angeles aren’t far behind New York in pain.The City by the Bay requires around 57 years to save a $400,000 down payment, while Los Angeles buyers need 41.5 years to amass $170,500. Boston, Anaheim and San Jose round out the list of markets where homeownership feels generations away.Rocket’s analysis crunched first-time homebuyer mortgage data from loans closed between May 20, 2025, and May 19, 2026, pairing it with median household income figures from the Census Bureau’s 2024 American Community Survey.

Researchers assumed a household socking away 5 percent of its annual income toward a down payment fund each year.On the flip side, the fastest markets to save up are clustered in the Midwest and South. No shocker there.It’ll take 4.3 years to save up for a $20,450 down payment in Virginia Beach, Virginia, while Fort Worth, Texas, needs the same 4.3 years for $17,867.Indianapolis, Milwaukee, Jacksonville, Cleveland, Columbus and West Palm Beach round out the top 10 fastest markets, all clocking in under 5.5 years.In New York City, where a hefty down payment has become almost a requirement to compete, Redfin agent Jason Warner said he’s increasingly fielding clients well past their twenties.“The price point ...