Home Listing Price

The listing price is how much the seller is asking for the home. You may end up settling on a higher or lower price, but this is a great starting point.

Down Payment

The down payment is the amount paid upfront when buying a home. As your down payment increases, your monthly payment decreases. If you’re able to make a down payment of 20% of the home’s price, your lender won’t require you to purchase private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Interest Rate

Once you secure financing to purchase a home, you’ll pay interest to continue borrowing from your lender. The interest rate shown here is an annual percentage of your mortgage loan, which results in your monthly interest cost. Rates change often, so we’ve displayed the current interest rate for your use. You can override the default interest rate in the calculator with the latest rate to see your estimated monthly payment. The interest portion of your monthly payment will go down over time as the balance goes down.

Homeowners Insurance

Lenders will usually require that you purchase a homeowners insurance policy to obtain a home mortgage. A standard homeowners insurance policy typically covers your home, your belongings, injuries to you or others on the premises, property damage, and living expenses if you are displaced from your home because of an insured disaster.

Property Tax

Property taxes are usually included in your monthly mortgage payment. The property tax figure shown here is estimated relative to the listing price you’ve selected; however, you can simply input the property tax shown on the listing of the house you are interested in. The tax amount displayed on most property listings is usually an annual amount. If you know of an area you are interested in, the county assessor’s website will usually share the current tax rate.