Homebuyers ditching the down payment

The Sacramento Bee reports:

Born during the Great Depression, the 20 percent down payment traditionally used to buy a house has now joined $1.50 gasoline as ancient history.

More than 1 in 5 California homebuyers now finance every cent of their home purchase, says the California Association of Realtors. Seven years ago it was 4.5 percent.

The newly released numbers reveal a shift in homebuying and lending patterns in recent years as California home prices more than doubled.

As we've said before,a homeowner without equity is a renter with debt.