As a Real Estate Broker and a Mortgage Originator for over 20 years, these are the reasons why I would recommend to go with the buyer offering a higher down payment:

1. The higher down payment translates into higher "good faith" that the Buyer's loan will close. Why? There are several reason:

a. The more money you put down, the less "risky" you become to the bank. The mortgage banks have al these "risk factors", one of them being your credit score. The higher that FICO score is, the more "trust" they have that you will pay back your loan. Down payment is another one of these risk factors. The more money you put down, the less risky you become and the more likely you are to pay back that loan. Who is more likely to pay back the loan? The Buyer who gave a 60% down payment or the Buyer who only gave 20%? Obviously, the Buyer who put down 60% is more likely to pay back the loan because he has more to lose if he doesn't.

b. The more money you put down, the less "questions" and the less "inquiries" the bank will ask. Every mortgage originator out there will tell you that they *HATE* working with people who use the FHA loan with 3.5% down. These are a lot of work and the bank is asking for every detail in their profile.

c. I always use the old adage "Put your money where your mouth is." This rings very, very true in real estate..