Following the recent mortgage crisis in the late 2000s, many housing lenders began to require at least a 20 percent down payment from buyers in order to reduce their own loan risk. Conventional loans, which many lenders do offer to homebuyers who have less than 20 percent down, although the buyers will likely need to pay private mortgage insurance (PMI) until they have established 20 percent equity in their homes, either through making monthly payments or by refinancing if the value of the property increases significantly in the early years following your purchase.