You do not have to put 20 percent down on a house. In fact, the average down payment for first-time buyers is just 7 percent. However, a smaller down payment means a more expensive mortgage long-term. With less than 20 percent down on a house purchase, you will have a bigger loan and higher monthly payments.

According to the most recent Realtors Confidence Index by the National Association of Realtors, 52% of all noncash buyers put down less than 20% on their home purchase in October of last year, and a whopping 74% of first-time buyers made a down payment of less than 20%.

The report also found that the average first home buyer puts down 20% of the purchase price as a deposit. Sarah Megginson, home loans expert at Finder said that saving for a house deposit is a big financial hurdle for first home buyers.

Many home buyers assume they’ll need a 20% deposit before they can apply for a home loan, but that’s not necessarily true. Features such as lenders mortgage insurance (LMI) and family guarantees mean that some lenders may let you buy your home with a much smaller deposit than you might think.

Homebuyers who put at least 20% down don’t have to pay PMI, and they’ll save on interest over the life of the loan. But if putting 20% down would leave you with no financial cushion (or is simply not possible), it’s probably not in your best interest.

PMI return on investment Home buyers avoid PMI because they feel it’s a waste of money. In fact, some forego buying a home altogether because they don’t want to pay PMI premiums. That could be a mistake. Data from the housing market indicates that PMI yields a surprising return on investment.

This was the basic rule of thumb for many years. Simply take your gross income and multiply it by 2.5 or 3, to get the maximum value of the home you can afford. For somebody making $100,000 a year, the maximum purchase price on a new home should be somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000.

How much do you need to make to be able to afford a house that costs $200,000? To afford a house that costs $200,000 with a down payment of $40,000, you’d need to earn $29,843 per year before tax. The monthly mortgage payment would be $696. Salary needed for 200,000 dollar mortgage.

So if you earn $70,000 a year, you should be able to spend at least $1,692 a month — and up to $2,391 a month — in the form of either rent or mortgage payments.