Weekly Real Estate News
Summary
Coldwell Banker's Harris Poll found 82% of parents with children age five or younger have saved or considered saving for a child's future down payment, but only 14% have actually begun. The survey covered 2,060 U.S. adults.
Parents with preschool-age children are already thinking about the down payments those children may need decades from now. A new Coldwell Banker survey finds that 82% of parents with children ages five and younger have either begun saving or considered saving toward a child’s future home purchase. The more revealing figure is how few have actually put money aside.
Only 14% of parents in that group said they had started saving for a child’s down payment, according to the 2026 American Dream Report released October 28. The gap between considering a financial goal and funding it is important when interpreting the company’s headline 82% figure.
Coldwell Banker commissioned The Harris Poll to conduct the online survey September 8–10 among 2,060 U.S. adults aged 18 or older. The company reports a Bayesian credible interval of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points at a 95% confidence level for the overall sample, with wider uncertainty for smaller subgroups.
The results are self-reported attitudes and experiences. They do not measure actual bank balances, establish how much parents are saving or predict whether their children will ultimately purchase homes. They also do not establish that 82% of parents are already accumulating funds.
Among all parents surveyed, 56% said they had considered saving for a child’s down payment, compared with 51% for college and 49% for a first car. The survey found that 85% of Gen Z parents and 82% of millennial parents had considered or begun saving for a child’s home, versus 70% of Gen X and 51% of baby-boomer parents.
Family financial assistance appears increasingly relevant to purchase decisions. Fifteen percent of homeowners said they had received money from family or friends toward their down payment; the share was 26% among Gen Z homeowners. Among recipients of such help, 71% said they were expected to repay the money.
That distinction matters to lenders. A genuine gift, a documented family loan and an undisclosed repayment obligation can be treated differently under mortgage underwriting rules. The survey does not indicate which specific financing structures the respondents used or whether their arrangements were disclosed to lenders.
Half of adults surveyed said they had helped or considered helping fund a relative’s down payment. Separately, 17% reported using or expecting to use a family gift or loan, while personal savings remained the most frequently named source at 44%.
Coldwell Banker’s research also found that 63% of adults believed buying a home within the next year would leave them house poor. Yet 85% still described homeownership as part of the American Dream, unchanged from the company’s 2025 measure. The coexistence of those views captures the appeal of ownership and the financial strain respondents associate with entering the market.
Survey measure
Share of respondents
Parents of children 5 or younger who saved or considered saving for a child’s down payment
82%
Parents of children 5 or younger who already started saving
14%
Homeowners who received down-payment help from family or friends
15%
Respondents who say buying next year would leave them house poor
63%
For agents and loan officers, the findings suggest more purchase conversations may involve relatives who are contributing funds or helping evaluate affordability. The practical questions remain familiar: whether money is a gift or debt, whether borrowers can document its source and whether the monthly payment remains sustainable after the down payment is covered.
The company-sponsored survey provides a useful view of consumer sentiment. It is not a substitute for transaction-level data on mortgage approvals, household savings or family transfers.
