The median down payment of homebuyers taking out mortgages nationally fell in April for the first time in two years, and down payments for D.C.-area homebuyers are lower than the national average.

Redfin reports the median down payment in the D.C. region in April was 10%. The national average was 15%. Ten percent is still an average of almost $62,000 in the D.C. market.

One reason for lower average down payments here is the popularity of Department of Veterans Affairs Home loans. VA loans are most prevalent in D.C., accounting for 16.5% of all mortgages in April, as well as in Virginia Beach, at 41.7% and Jacksonville, Florida, at 18.3%. VA loans generally have lower down payment requirements. Veterans, active-duty service members and eligible serving spouses qualify for VA loans.

Federal Housing Administration loans have also grown in popularity. In the D.C. market, 13.3% of loans in April were FHA loans. Nationwide, 15.3% of mortgage sales used an FHA loan, up from 14.2% a year ago.

Like VA loans, FHA loans have lower down payment requirements. Unlike VA loans, FHA loans are available to a much broader pool of borrowers, but are typically favored by those with lower credit scores or past foreclosures.

All-cash borrowers do not need any down payment. In the D.C. area, 21.6% of home purchases in April were all cash, compared to 30.7% nationally.

Down payments in the 50 largest metro areas in April typically ranged from 10% to 20%, with some outliers. In San Jose, San Francisco, and Anaheim, California, down payments averaged 25% in April. Those are also extremely expensive markets. In San Francisco, a 25% down payment was an average of more than $430,000.

Virginia Beach had the lowest average down payment in April, at just 2%, or an average $7,200.

The share of down payments by metro that were VA and FHA loans in April and the share of purchases that were cash-only are posted on Redfin .

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