Mortgage Calculator: Here’s How Much You Need To Buy a $424,200 Home at a 6.24% Rate

Mortgage rates this week for a 30-year fixed loan increased to 6.24%, up from 6.22% last week. Though an uptick, it's a steady move given the federal government’s reopening after the longest-ever shutdown in American history.

So what impact 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 $424,200 home at today’s 6.24% mortgage rate is roughly $2,089. (That’s assuming a 20% down payment and excluding tax and insurance.)

Last week, a median-priced home at a 6.22% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,085 per month—$4 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 median priced home of $440,950 with 20% down, which means homebuyers today can save $249 a month—or $2,988 a year—compared with buying when rates and prices 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 6.24% mortgage rate on a median-priced $424,200 home is roughly $2,489 per month.

Last week, a median-priced home at the same price but a 6.22% mortgage rate would have cost homebuyers $2,484 per month—$5 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 the median-priced home of $440,950 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 6.24% 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 $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 6.24% 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.