Average down payment cost for Nashville home exceeds $200,000: Zillow

NASHVILLE Tenn. (WKRN) – $203,000.

Not many people have that kind of cash on hand, but that is the amount the typical worker in Nashville would need for a down payment on a home in Nashville. News 2 asked a Nashville lender what first time-buyers should do.

Miguel Vega works in financing at Neustro Fintech in Nashville and helps people buy homes. Still, this number shocked him.

“My first reaction is ‘No, it can’t be. It’s not possible. There’s something wrong with that,'” said Vega.

A new Zillow study found the average Nashville worker needs to plop down a staggering $203,325 down payment in order to afford a $446,180 home, and even with that massive down payment, at the current high rates, the monthly payment would be pricey.

“Payments are $3,000 and $3,500 for a house where they were supposed to be paying $1,800 or $2,000,” said Vega. “The problem is that our low and medium income homebuyers are getting out of the game.”

The study also found it would take more than 16 years to save up, and that’s freezing many hardworking Nashvillians out of homebuying.

“Someone who is a first responder…they are struggling to get those payments. That’s when it gets really painful to see that lack of affordability,” Vega said.

Vega and his team at Nuestro Fintech work hard to get first time buyers into a home. He recommends using state grants, down payment assistance programs, and reaching out to the big banks to hear their new programs for first time buyers.

“Yes, sometimes it’s better to rent, but those who are already there that are already on the fence, you might be just one or two programs away from getting the homes of their dreams or to just stop renting,” said Vega.

For rural residents, you may qualify for USDA programs that require no down payment and a few thousand dollars of closing costs.

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