The single biggest question first-time buyers ask in Las Vegas is how much cash they actually need to close on a home. The internet gives you a wide range of bad answers. Twenty percent is the rule-of-thumb people remember from their parents. Zero down is what the military ads promise. Neither number reflects what most buyers in Clark County actually put up.
Here is the real answer, broken down by loan type, with Las Vegas-specific dollar amounts so you can plan accurately instead of guessing.
The minimum by loan type
FHA loans require 3.5 percent down if your credit score is 580 or higher. On a $400,000 Las Vegas home, that is $14,000. If your credit is between 500 and 579, FHA still works, but the required down payment jumps to 10 percent ($40,000 on that same $400,000 home), which is why most buyers focus on getting to 580 before applying.
Conventional loans now go as low as 3 percent down for first-time buyers using Fannie Mae HomeReady or Freddie Mac Home Possible programs. On a $400,000 home, that is $12,000. Requirements are tighter than FHA on credit (620 minimum typically) but the mortgage insurance drops off automatically at 78 percent loan-to-value, whereas FHA MIP stays for the life of the loan in most cases.
VA loans require zero down for eligible veterans, active-duty service members, and surviving spouses. No minimum cash for down payment at all. You will still need closing costs (more on that below) or enough seller concessions to cover them.
USDA loans require zero down in eligible rural areas. For the Las Vegas Valley, this means parts of Pahrump, Moapa Valley, Mesquite, and some census tracts in northwest Clark County. You can check USDA eligibility by address at the USDA Rural Development website.
Jumbo loans (over $766,550 in Clark County for 2026) typically require 10 to 20 percent down because they exceed conforming loan limits and are held on lender balance sheets. If you are buying in Summerlin, Seven Hills, or MacDonald Highlands at prices above $800,000, plan for a significantly larger cash outlay.
What you actually need to bring on a typical Las Vegas purchase
Down payment is only part of the cash-to-close number. You also need earnest money, closing costs, and prepaid items. Here is the full breakdown for a median Las Vegas purchase.
On a $420,000 Las Vegas home with an FHA l/an, a realistic cash-to-close without any assistance programs looks like this. Earnest money: $3,000 to $5,000 (goes toward down payment at closing). Down payment: 3.5 percent of loan amount, about $14,200 on the financed portion. Closing costs: 2.5 percent, about $10,100 for title, escrow, appraisal ($650), recording, origination, and lender fees. Prepaid escrow: $2,500 to $4,000 for the first year of homeowners insurance, several months of property taxes, and interim interest. Total out-of-pocket: roughly $30,000 to $35,000.
That is the number every first-time buyer should plan around. Not 20 percent, not 3.5 percent, but the real total once you add closing and prepaids.
How down payment assistance programs change the math
Nevada has four major programs that reduce or eliminate the down payment portion. Home Is Possible (HIP) provides a grant of up to 5 percent of the loan amount, which alone can cover the entire FHA down payment plus some closing costs. HOME Plus layers a 3 percent deferred-payment second mortgage. WISH provides a 4-to-1 matching grant up to $10,000. Clark County HOME offers up to $60,000 for buyers below 80 percent AMI.
With HIP stacked on an FHA loan, a typical first-time buyer can close on a $400,000 Las Vegas home with $4,000 to $6,000 out of pocket instead of $30,000. That is the single most important fact to learn before you start shopping.
Gift funds: what counts, what does not
If a family member is helping with your down payment, most loan types allow gift funds with proper documentation. FHA and conventional loans both accept gifts from parents, grandparents, siblings, aunts, uncles, and in some cases close friends or a spouse’s employer. The person providing the gift signs a gift letter stating the money does not have to be repaid, and the funds have to be traceable in your bank account at least 30 to 60 days before closing.
Gift funds cannot come from anyone with a financial interest in the sale (the seller, their agent, the builder, or your own agent). They also cannot come from a loan you plan to repay later. Lenders check for this carefully because an undisclosed loan drives up your DTI.
On VA loans, the entire down payment can be a gift. On FHA loans, gift funds can cover the whole down payment and closing costs. On conventional loans, you typically need at least 5 percent from your own funds if the down payment is less than 20 percent, though HomeReady and Home Possible programs relax this.
What lenders want to see in your bank statements
Two months of bank statements is the standard look-back. Lenders flag large deposits (usually over $1,000 or 50 percent of your monthly income, whichever is lower) and require documentation for each one. A tax refund, a paycheck bonus, or a gift all need paper trails. Cash deposits are especially scrutinized because they cannot be traced.
The common mistake: depositing tip money, cash from a side job, or a family loan right before applying for the mortgage. Those funds get flagged as “unsourced” and cannot be used toward the down payment. If you have cash you plan to use, deposit it 60 to 90 days before you start the pre-approval process.
Retirement accounts count as reserves, not down payment, unless you actually withdraw funds. A 401(k) loan for a down payment is allowed, but the monthly payment increases your DTI and can affect qualification. Roth IRA contributions can be withdrawn penalty-free for a first-time home purchase up to $10,000, which is a useful lever for buyers with long-term savings they have not tapped.
Timeline for saving
If you are starting from zero and targeting a median Las Vegas home at $400,000, the most realistic savings goal is $8,000 to $12,000 when combined with an assistance program, or $25,000 to $35,000 without one. Most first-time buyers we work with save for 12 to 24 months before purchasing.
A faster path: if you already own something (car, second vehicle, RV, motorcycle) that you can sell without needing to replace, that cash can close the gap quickly. Selling assets and using the proceeds for a down payment is 100 percent legal and shows up as “other income sources” when properly documented.
Another path: employer-assisted housing programs. MGM, Caesars, Station Casinos, CCSD, Metro, and UMC all have variations of homebuyer assistance for employees. Ask your HR department before assuming you are alone on this.
Down payment for condos vs single-family homes in Las Vegas
Condos add a wrinkle. Most condo complexes in Henderson, downtown Las Vegas, and Summerlin require the development to be on the FHA-approved condo list for you to use an FHA loan. If the complex is not approved, you are limited to conventional financing, which typically requires 5 to 10 percent down on condos (vs 3 to 3.5 percent on single-family). That said, condo HOA fees run $200 to $500 per month in most Las Vegas complexes, which affects your DTI calculation and reduces how much home you qualify for.
A 500 square foot condo in Downtown Summerlin at $280,000 with a $350 HOA can actually require a larger down payment than a 1,400 square foot single-family home in North Las Vegas at $360,000. The HOA cost is invisible on the sticker price but very visible to the underwriter. Run both scenarios through a pre-approval before committing to a property type.
New construction vs resale
Las Vegas has two very different buying experiences right now. New construction from Lennar, KB Home, D.R. Horton, Pulte, and Richmond American often comes with builder financing incentives: 2 to 3 percent in closing cost credits, rate buydowns for the first two years, and sometimes free design center upgrades. These can reduce your cash-to-close by $8,000 to $15,000 without touching your down payment.
The trade-off is rate and flexibility. Builder-preferred lenders rarely offer the best underlying interest rate, and you lose the ability to shop. A broker can run a side-by-side comparison: builder incentives with builder lender versus outside financing at a better rate with no incentives. Sometimes the incentives win, sometimes the rate wins, and the difference on a 30-year loan can be $40,000 to $80,000 in lifetime interest.
Resale in Summerlin, Henderson, and Southern Highlands does not come with builder credits but does give you room to negotiate seller concessions. In a balanced market, asking for 2 to 3 percent in seller-paid closing costs is standard and usually accepted. That pulls your cash-to-close down by another $8,000 to $12,000 on a $400,000 home.
What to do next
Run the real math once before you start shopping. A broker can pull your credit (soft inquiry, no impact), confirm which loan types you qualify for, stack the assistance programs that apply to your income band, and send back a single cash-to-close number for a specific price range. It takes about 15 minutes and replaces a year of internet guessing with an actual answer.
Call Millennium Mortgage Group at (702) 946-1413 or get started at mmtggroup.com.