Stricter Down Payment Proposal Could Deter Homebuyers

Among the most hotly contested ideas that bank regulators have proposed to reduce the risk of another financial crisis is a rule making a 20 percent down payment mandatory on some new home loans. Consumer advocates, civil rights groups and lending industry groups alike have said that such a rule would deter many families from ever buying a home.

A new survey by the National Foundation for Credit Counseling could shed light on the actual effects of the proposal: The survey found that half of the 1,000 people contacted thought that they would never be able to put together a 20 percent down payment to buy a home.