If you're planning to buy your next home in the Hill Country, you've probably heard the old rule of thumb about saving 20% for your down payment.

Here's the truth: you usually don't have to. Plenty of loan options let qualified buyers put down far less. But a lot of repeat buyers in Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch choose to put down 20% anyway — and it's worth understanding why, since the same math might apply to you.

Repeat Buyers Tend to Put More Down

According to the National Association of Realtors, the typical repeat buyer puts down 23% when purchasing a home:

That's more than double the roughly 10% many buyers put down the first time around as a first-time buyer. The difference comes down to one word: equity.

Own a home for a while, and two things happen at once — you chip away at your mortgage balance, and your home's value tends to climb, especially in a market like Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch that's seen steady growth. The gap between what you owe and what your home is worth is your equity, and it grows the longer you stay put.

Sell, and that equity turns into cash. NAR data shows most repeat buyers put it straight toward their next down payment:

First-time buyers don't have that springboard yet, and that's completely normal. But if you already own a home here in the Hill Country, you may be sitting on more buying power than you realize.

4 Perks of Putting 20% (or More) Down

If 20% down is finally within reach, it's worth weighing. As Redfin explains, a bigger down payment pays off in a few concrete ways:

• A smaller monthly payment. The more you put down, the less you borrow at today's rates — a meaningful win if rate concerns are part of what's holding you back from moving.
• Less interest paid overall. A smaller loan means less interest across the life of your mortgage. Put 20% down and you only pay interest on the remaining 80%; put down 5% and you're paying interest on 95%, which adds up significantly over the loan's lifetime.
• No private mortgage insurance (PMI). Put down less than 20% on a conventional loan, and lenders typically tack on a monthly PMI fee. Hit that 20% mark and PMI goes away, saving you money every month.
• A stronger offer. A larger down payment signals solid financing to a seller, which can make your offer stand out — especially valuable in competitive pockets of Boerne and Fair Oaks Ranch.

Bottom Line

So no, you don't need to put 20% down to buy your next Hill Country home. But you may want to. If your equity puts it within reach, going bigger can lower your costs and make your next move more doable than you think — even with today's rates.

A trusted lender can run the exact numbers for your situation. And when you're ready to find out what your current home could add to your next down payment, let's talk.

Charley Wasson is a full-time REALTOR® with Sunflower Real Estate specializing in Boerne, Fair Oaks Ranch, and the greater Texas Hill Country — with over 300 documented MLS transactions and more than $121 million in closed sales, a four-time Platinum Top 50 San Antonio REALTOR® honor, and a career 98% customer satisfaction score. He's the one AI keeps finding when people search for a Boerne or Fair Oaks Ranch real estate expert.