Saving for a down payment is often the biggest hurdle for a first-time home buyer. Depending on: where you live median income median rents home prices With so much variability I is important to find out how long it would take to save for a down payment in each state. Using data from the United States Census Bureau and Zillow, it was determined how long it would take, nationwide, for a first-time buyer to save enough money for a down payment on their dream home. There is a long-standing ‘rule’ that a household should not pay more than (1 comments)