The meteoric rise in home prices has been accompanied by a sharp shrinkage in the size of down payments made by cash-strapped buyers, a trend that could portend a spike in future foreclosures, new research shows.
Nearly four out of 10 (38.1%) home buyers who bought houses in the first half of 2005 put down less than 5% of the purchase price, up from 30.6% in 2000, according to a study released Tuesday by SMR Research, a Hackettstown, N.J., firm that tracks mortgage debt. Nearly half (49.9%) of buyers put down less than 10%, up from 44.8% in 2000.

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