A young couple prepares to move in.
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Some couples are using wedding registries to help fund down payments, Financial Times reported.
One couple raised $30,000 from guests towards the deposit cost and another raised $10,000.
Wedding registry websites have seen a spike in couples asking for cash from their guests.
Some couples preparing to marry are finding a novel solution to the problem of raising enough cash for a down payment on a home – asking their wedding guests for cash, the Financial Times reported.
Instead of putting items like kitchen appliances and tableware on their wedding registry, some couples like Alexa Feneque and Silvio Tellez are asking for donations towards their mortgage down payment and have raised $30,000, according to the newspaper.
“We are working so hard to save for our first home and any contribution towards that will always be sincerely appreciated,” the New York couple reportedly noted on their registry.
Zola and The Knot, two wedding registry and planning websites, told the Financial Times that more couples are using their registry to ask for help with raising funds for a deposit or other housing costs.
The average cost of a mortgage down payment for a first-time buyer is about 6% of the total property cost, according to mortgage loan provider Rocket Mortgage.
Zola said that three quarters of couples using its services ask for money and that the number of cash funds relating to housing has shot up since 2019. The Knot has seen a 10% increase on funds to help pay for new homes and renovations and the amount contributed to housing has increased by almost 80% this year.
Camille Hemming and her husband received $10,000 towards their mortgage deposit after asking their 200 wedding guests on their registry, with about a third choosing to contribute.
Mortgage rates this month surpassed 6% for the first time in 14 years, and this week the 30-year fixed rate rose to 6.29%. In August the national median mortgage payment amounted to $1,839, data from Mortgage Bankers Association shows, while there was a 33% increase in monthly payments in the first eight months of this year.
“The savvy couples now know that they can use their registries to put down that cash for their future home,” Esther Lee, deputy editor at The Knot, told the Financial Times. “With everything that we’ve experienced when it comes to inflation and the housing market, people are really reflecting on how they want to use their registry.”
Zola and The Knot did not immediately respond to Insider’s request for comment.