Beer or Down Payment? How Much Denver Homebuyers Need to Save

For many first time home buyers, saving enough money for a down payment is a big challenge. How can you save enough money to put 20% down on a home in Denver?

The average sold price of a home in Denver was $490,621 in June. That means, if you want to put down 20%*, you’ll need to save $98,124.

What does that much money look like?

	Coffee A Grande Caffe Latte from Starbucks costs $3.65. In order to save enough money for a down payment, you’d need to skip 26,883 cups of coffee.
	Candy Bars Maybe chocolate is your vice. You’d need to skip 48,576 King-size Kit-Kat bars.
	Beer Craft breweries have taken off in Denver. But if you’re saving for a down payment, you’ll need to pass on 16,860 beers (or fewer, if you prefer craft beers).
	Cocktails Sorry, coworkers, but we’re skipping the next few happy hours… instead of ordering an $11 cocktail, say “no” and pocket that cash for the next 8,920 drinks.
	Lunch Out Break out the lunch box and bring lunch from home. You’ll have enough saved for a down payment if you skip 6,542 lunches out.
	Dinner Out Splurge for date-night every now and then, but cook meals at home to save some money. Eat home instead of our 1,326 times, and you’ll have enough for a new home.
	Soda For a caffeine boost, hit the office coffee pot rather than the vending machine until you skip 51,918 sodas.
	Movies Brush off the dusty DVDs you have at home and stay home instead. You’ll have to add 4,089 movies to your watchlist.
	New Shoes One pair of men’s leather business shoes cost $123. Break out the shoe polish, because you’ll need to not buy 798 new pairs of shoes to save for your down payment.

Don’t panic!

You don’t have to give up all your coffee, or beer, or new shoes to save for a down payment. Making small changes at home can add up to big savings. Keep reading in How to Save for a Down Payment.

*There are many lenders that require less than 20% down for a home mortgage. Talk to your REALTOR for a more accurate estimate and to connect with local mortgage professionals.

Prices from Expatistan. Each icon represents 200 individual items.