Hacker News Reader

I'm trying to understand your comment about not putting a large down payment in case prices go down. Whether you buy or not is really the only thing that matters if you think the price will go down.

Now the thing to consider, is how much to put down vs how much of your down payment you should invest. With rates so low, it seems better to invest the down payment in the stock market and putting the minimum in the house.

View on HN

The amount down changes if I'm playing with my money or they bank's. There's a cutoff where you can default on the home, wreck your credit, but if you have enough in the bank to buy a replacement, come out ahead.

> With rates so low, it seems better to invest the down payment in the stock market and putting the minimum in the house.

I'd agree that it'd be better to put the minimum possible down, but remember that I'm limited by my salary, not my down payment, so I'm expecting 40% down so I can afford something nicer. I also think that stocks have done will because there's no alternative, and people buy the most expensive home they can afford the mortgage for, so if interest rates go up, both stocks and real estate will go down (or up less quickly).

Reply on news.ycombinator.com