Why Is Cash the Biggest Hurdle for Buyers?
After 25 years in lending, I can tell you the limiting factor for most buyers is not income or credit. It is cash. Early life is expensive: a car, furniture, student loans, rent, building credit from zero. Saving a down payment on top of that takes years.
The national data agrees. Per the NAR 2025 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, first-time buyers are down to 21% of the market, the lowest share since 1981, and the median first-time buyer is now 40 years old. Their median down payment was 10%, the highest since 1989.
Notice something in that last number. Ten percent is what buyers chose to put down, not what is required. The required minimum is 3%, and the gap between those two numbers keeps a lot of people renting longer than they need to. I go deeper on how much you should put down in this Mortgage Secrets episode. This page answers the question that comes first: what can your cash actually buy?
How Much Do You Actually Need for a Down Payment?
The minimum down payment on a traditional loan in the DMV is between 3% and 10%, depending on the loan type and loan amount.
Here is the full picture:
Full limits for our area are on the loan limits page. The down payment is only part of your cash, though. Closing costs come with every purchase, and that is why the calculator below does more than simple division.
Run Your Numbers
Enter your cash, set your location and buyer status, and the calculator solves your maximum price under four scenarios at once: conventional and FHA, each with and without a seller credit. The orange buttons adjust the seller credit, and See the Full Breakdown reveals the numbers behind every card.
The Calculator Is One Piece of the Puzzle
What your cash can reach and what you should do are two different conversations. If you want to talk through your numbers, your timeline, and whether a seller credit strategy fits your market, I am happy to walk through them with you. No credit pull required.
*No sales pressure, just the math.
How Does the Cash Buying Power Calculator Work?
Most calculators start with a price and tell you the cash required. This one runs backward: give it the cash, and it finds the highest price where the minimum down payment, closing costs, and prepaid escrows all fit.
Total Cash Available
Everything you can put toward the purchase: savings, family gifts, funds you plan to use.
Location
Transfer and recordation taxes are set by the state and county and are among the highest costs at closing. All 23 Maryland jurisdictions are included.
First-Time Buyer
Unlocks 3% down conventional, and in Maryland and DC, it also cuts your transfer taxes, stretching your cash further.
Property Type
Adjusts insurance and fees. For condos, your monthly fee feeds the numbers.
Seller Credit Buttons
Control the two orange scenarios. The default is the maximum each program allows; dial it down to match your market.
Full Breakdown
One click shows the down payment, loan amount, and closing costs behind every card.
Behind the scenes, this tool runs the same fee, tax, title, and escrow engine as my closing cost and payment calculators for Maryland, Virginia, and DC, so the numbers always agree.
What Is the Math Behind the Numbers?
If closing costs did not exist, buying power would be one line of division. Here is what the same $10,000 looks like three ways:
First-time Maryland buyer, Montgomery County, single-family home, 6.50% rate, 30-year fixed.
But closing costs exist, so your cash has two jobs: the down payment and the costs. Fixed fees hit small purchases hardest, which is why closing costs are a bigger percentage of the price at lower price points and shrink as prices rise. Every line item is explained in my closing cost guide.
Scenario: First-Time Buyer in Montgomery County, MD
On Their Own:
Their $25,000 splits two ways: $10,590 to the down payment and $14,403 to closing costs and prepaids. Maximum price: $353,000.
The Seller Credit:
The seller agrees to a 3% credit of $21,630, which covers closing costs and prepaids, in lieu of cash.
The Result
With the costs off their plate, almost the entire $25,000 becomes a down payment. Maximum price: $721,000.
That is a Maryland scenario with one lever pulled. In DC, a buyer with the same $25,000 emailed me in August 2026 ready to give up and keep saving. A 3% seller credit plus one overlooked first-time buyer transfer tax benefit took his ceiling from $325,000 to $776,000. Here's how far $25,000 goes when you're buying a house in DC, step by step.
Can You Actually Get a Seller Credit?
Honest answer: it depends on the market. In 2021, when everything sold over list with multiple offers, buyers who needed credits struggled to get under contract. But markets do not stay like that. When conditions balance and homes sit longer, credits become a normal part of negotiation, and sellers regularly view a full-price offer with a credit the same as a lower offer without one, since their net is the same.
Balanced markets are the low-cash buyer's window, and the buyers who win are the ones who knew their numbers before it opened.
What This Calculator Shows, and What Comes Next
This calculator models traditional loans only: standard conventional and FHA financing that anyone at any income level can use, with no program requirements and no red tape. If your cash is tight, down payment assistance through the Maryland Mortgage Program, Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB), or DC programs like DC Open Doors & HPAP can stretch you further, and veterans should start with the zero-down VA loan instead. Each has its own page on this site.
One last thing before you anchor on the biggest number on your screen: what your cash can reach and what you should spend are two different numbers. Run the payment side with the affordability and payment tools on my calculator hub. Cash is the hurdle that keeps most people renting, and as the numbers on this page show, it is usually a smaller hurdle than they think. Know your number now, so you are ready when the moment comes.
Your Cash Goes Further Than You Think
Cash keeps more people renting than income or credit ever will, and it is usually a smaller hurdle than they think. Whether you want to talk through what your cash can do, or you are ready to make your numbers official, let's get you set before the right house shows up.
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