Down Payment Savings Calculator

It depends on your target, current savings, monthly contribution, and expected return. For a $60,000 down payment starting from $10,000 saved, at $500/month and a 5% return it takes 79 months — about 7 years, matching the worked example above. Increase savings or return to shorten the timeline.

Aim for 20% of the home price as a down payment to avoid PMI. For a $300,000 home, that's $60,000. Starting from $10,000 saved at a 5% return, $500/month gets there in about 7 years and $1,000/month in about 4. Use the calculator with your own target.

For a 1–3 year horizon: high-yield savings or money market. For 5+ years: consider a mix of bonds or index funds for higher return, with the understanding of market risk. Keep funds accessible when you're ready to buy.

No. Many loans allow 3–10% down, but you'll pay PMI (private mortgage insurance) until you reach 20% equity. FHA loans can go as low as 3.5%. A larger down payment lowers your monthly payment and total interest.

At 20% down, $80,000. At 10% down, $40,000 (plus PMI). At 3.5% (FHA), $14,000. First-time buyers average 7% ($28,000); all buyers average 13%. A larger down payment lowers your loan, monthly payment, and total interest. Use the calculator to see how long to save for your target.

The engine converts months to years with Math.ceil, always rounding up to a whole year. 79 months is six years and seven months, which rounds to 7. The months figure is the precise one — use it when you are planning around a specific closing date, since the year figure can overstate the remaining wait by as much as eleven months.

The loop checks the balance only after each month's growth and deposit, so it stops at the first month-end that reaches or passes your goal rather than on the day you actually cross it. In this page's example that produces $60,551.72 against a $60,000 target — a $551.72 overshoot, roughly one month's deposit plus that month's growth. The larger your monthly contribution, the larger the overshoot.

Yes. The figure is your starting balance plus every monthly deposit: $10,000 + $500 × 79 = $49,500 in this page's example, of which only $39,500 is new money. Growth is the closing balance minus that full $49,500, so it covers the return earned on your starting balance as well as on the deposits.

The loop runs for a maximum of 40 years — 480 months — and then stops, reporting 40 years and a summary noting the target is beyond that horizon at the current rate. Read that as a signal to change an input rather than as a timeline: raise the monthly contribution, or lower the target to a down payment percentage your income actually supports.