Mortgage Calculator: Here’s How Much You Need To Buy a $424,200 Home at a 6.23% Rate

Mortgage rates this week for a 30-year fixed loan decreased to 6.23%, down from 6.26% last week. 
Rates averaged 6.81% during the same period in 2024, and a divided Federal Reserve appeared to be leaning toward another rate cut in December.

So how does this affect your monthly mortgage payment? And what does it mean for homebuyers?

Here’s the monthly cost of purchasing a typical home today, according to the Realtor.com® mortgage calculator.

Monthly mortgage payment today with a 20% down payment

The typical monthly payment on a median-priced $424,200 home at today’s 6.23% mortgage rate is roughly $2,089. (That’s assuming a 20% down payment and excluding tax and insurance.)

Last week, that same median-priced home at a 6.26% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,096 per month—$7 more than what buyers would pay today.

Yet, if you examine the peak mortgage rate of 7.79% in October 2023 and then compare those payments with loan installments today, homebuyers are way better off now than they would have been then.

In October 2023, buyers would have paid $2,537 monthly on a $440,950 home (the median price) with 20% down. This means homebuyers today can save $249 a month—or $2,988 a year—compared with buying when rates peaked.

Monthly mortgage payment today with a 3.5% down payment

For most borrowers, FHA loans require a 3.5% down payment.

Assuming a 3.5% down payment and excluding tax and insurance, the typical payment at today’s 6.23% mortgage rate on a median-priced $424,200 home is roughly $2,489 per month.

Last week, a median-priced home at a 6.26% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,497 per month—$8 more than what buyers would pay today.

Nonetheless, mortgage payments at today’s rates on a median-priced home are still a $300-per-month improvement over October 2023, when a median-priced home at a 7.79% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $3,060 per month.

Long-term savings over 30 years

When you multiply these monthly savings by 30 years, they add up dramatically.

If you buy a $424,200 house at today’s 6.23% rate with a 20% down payment, you’ll pay a total of $752,040 over the life of a 30-year loan.

If you’d bought that same $440,950 home with 20% down in October 2023, when rates peaked at 7.79%, that loan would end up costing you $913,310.

Total savings over 30 years: $161,270.

Now, let’s turn our attention to FHA loans. If you put down 3.5% on a $424,200 house financed at 6.23% today, you’ll pay $896,040 over the life of the loan. If you’d put down 3.5% on a $440,950 home in October 2023, when rates peaked at 7.79%, you’d pay $1,101,679.

Total savings over 30 years: $205,639.