The minimum down payment you need for a house varies by the mortgage type. Twenty percent is a typical amount for a down payment. So, for a $300,000 home, you're looking at a down payment of $60,000. Since most people don't have that much in savings, it's generally easy to find a mortgage that requires less than 20% down. Some may qualify for a mortgage with a low down payment of 3.5% (for a $300,000 home, that's $10,500.) However, making a down payment of less than 20% usually means you'll need to pay private mortgage insurance, or PMI.