How to use this mortgage calculator
Enter the home price, your down payment, and the loan term. The interest rate is pre-filled with this week's Freddie Mac national average for a 30-year fixed loan, so the default result reflects the market as of today rather than a stale number. Change any field and the payment, PMI, and amortization table update instantly. The URL updates with your inputs too, so the link you share opens with your numbers, not ours.
The total monthly payment adds four things: principal and interest (P&I), property tax, homeowners insurance, and private mortgage insurance (PMI) if your down payment is under 20%. HOA dues are included if you enter them. Lenders use this all-in figure, often called PITI, when they decide how much you can borrow.
What the numbers mean in 2026
With the 30-year average above 7% for the first time since late 2023, the interest portion of a new mortgage is unusually large. On a $480,000 loan (a $600,000 home with 20% down) at 7.4%, the first payment is roughly $2,960 of interest and only $363 of principal. That is why the amortization table matters: it shows how slowly the balance falls in the early years and how much a shorter term or an extra payment changes the total interest.
| Loan amount | 6.5% | 7.0% | 7.4% | 7.9% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| $320,000 ($400k home, 20% down) | $2,023 | $2,129 | $2,216 | $2,326 |
| $480,000 ($600k home, 20% down) | $3,034 | $3,193 | $3,323 | $3,489 |
| $680,000 ($850k home, 20% down) | $4,298 | $4,524 | $4,708 | $4,942 |
| $800,000 ($1M home, 20% down) | $5,057 | $5,322 | $5,539 | $5,814 |
Principal and interest only, 30-year fixed. Taxes, insurance and PMI are extra.
Three ways to lower the payment
- Compare lenders on the same day. Quotes for the same borrower routinely differ by 0.25–0.5 points. On a $480,000 loan, 0.25 points is about $81 a month and $29,000 over 30 years.
- Reach 20% down, or ask about lender-paid PMI. PMI typically costs 0.3%–1.5% of the loan per year. Our estimate uses 0.75%; your quote will depend on credit score and loan-to-value.
- Check the property tax rate for the actual county. The default 1.1% is a national-ish average. California's effective rate is often 1.1%–1.3% of purchase price; Texas and New Jersey can be above 2%, which changes the payment by hundreds of dollars.
If you already own and are wondering what another Fed move does to you, the Rate Shock Calculator shows the payment at +0.25, +0.5 and +1 point. For how far your income stretches, use the DTI Calculator.