Mortgage Calculator: Here’s How Much You Need To Buy a $439,450 Home at a 6.5% Rate

Mortgage rates this week for a 30-year fixed loan decreased slightly to 6.5%, down from 6.56% last week.

So what effect does this have on your monthly mortgage payment? And what does this 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 $439,450 home at today’s 6.5% mortgage rate is roughly $2,222. (That’s assuming a 20% down payment and excluding tax and insurance.)

Last week, a median-priced home at a 6.56% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,233 per month—$14 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 $2,528 monthly on a $439,950 home with 20% down, which means homebuyers today can save $306 a month—or $3,816 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 6.5% mortgage rate on a median-priced $439,450 home is roughly $2,680 per month.

Last week, a median-priced home at a 6.56% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,697 per month—$16 more than what buyers would pay today.

Nonetheless, mortgage payments at today’s rates on a median-priced home are still a $370 to 380-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 $439,450 house at today’s 6.5% rate with a 20% down payment, you’ll pay a total of $798,840 over the life of a 30-year loan.

If you’d bought that same $439,450 home with 20% down in October 2023, when rates peaked at 7.79%, that loan would end up costing you $913,320.

Total savings over 30 years: $114,480.

Now, let’s turn our attention to FHA loans.

If you put down 3.5% on a $439,450 house financed at 6.5% today, you’ll pay $964,946 over the life of the loan.

If you’d put down 3.5% on a $439,450 home in October 2023, when rates peaked at 7.79%, you’d pay $1,101,681.

Total savings over 30 years: $136,735.