Monthly Mortgage Payment on a $400K House

The Freddie Mac 30-year fixed-rate average was 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026. At that rate, a 20% down payment on a $400k home (a $320,000 loan) works out to roughly $2,181 a month in principal and interest. Add the assumed taxes and insurance used below and the total lands near $2,715.

The Short Answer: What a $400k Home Costs Per Month

Principal and interest are usually the main pieces of a monthly mortgage payment, but the total is typically higher once taxes and insurance are included. So the principal-and-interest figure you see on many calculators is a floor, not the bill.

Rates change from week to week. The 30-year average was 7.03% for the week of September 24, 2026, compared with 7.24% for the week of October 29, 2026. Treat every figure in this article as an estimate and use a current lender quote before you budget.

Full Monthly Cost at 3.5%, 5%, 10%, and 20% Down

The table below uses the 7.24% rate on a 30-year fixed loan. Mortgage insurance is typically required when the down payment is under 20% of the home's price, so the lower down payments carry an extra line.

Assumptions (illustrative, not quotes): property tax of 1.1% of price per year ($367/month), homeowners insurance of 0.5% of price per year ($167/month), and placeholder mortgage insurance of 1.0%, 0.8% and 0.5% of the loan per year for the 3.5%, 5% and 10% scenarios. Your credit, loan type and location will change all of these.

Down payment	Down payment ($)	Loan amount	Principal & interest	Mortgage insurance (assumed)	Property tax (assumed)	Homeowners insurance (assumed)	Estimated total
3.5%	$14,000	$386,000	≈ $2,631	≈ $322	$367	$167	≈ $3,487
5%	$20,000	$380,000	≈ $2,590	≈ $253	$367	$167	≈ $3,377
10%	$40,000	$360,000	≈ $2,453	≈ $150	$367	$167	≈ $3,137
20%	$80,000	$320,000	≈ $2,181	$0	$367	$167	≈ $2,715

Going from 3.5% down to 20% down cuts the estimated monthly total by roughly $770 in this example, but it also requires $66,000 more cash up front. HOA dues, if your home has them, are not included here.

The 3.5% row is a generic estimate that uses a placeholder insurance rate, not the premium schedule of any specific loan program. Ask lenders exactly how the insurance on your loan would be charged.

How to Calculate Your Own Payment, Step by Step

You can reproduce the table with a calculator and a few inputs. Prefer to skip the math? Try our mortgage calculator and plug in the same numbers.

What you need: the home price, your planned down payment, a rate quote, the loan term, and estimates for annual property tax and insurance.

1. Subtract the down payment from the price. Example: $400,000 − $80,000 (20%) = a $320,000 loan.
2. Convert the annual rate to a monthly rate. Example: 7.24% ÷ 12 = 0.6033% per month, or r ≈ 0.006033.
3. Count the number of monthly payments. A 30-year loan has n = 360.
4. Apply the principal-and-interest formula: M = P × r(1+r)^n ÷ ((1+r)^n − 1). Example: (1.006033)^360 ≈ 8.719, so M ≈ $320,000 × 0.006033 × 8.719 ÷ 7.719 ≈ $2,181.
5. Add monthly property tax. Divide your estimated annual bill by 12. Example: $4,400 ÷ 12 ≈ $367.
6. Add monthly homeowners insurance. Divide the annual premium by 12. Example: $2,000 ÷ 12 ≈ $167.
7. Add mortgage insurance if it applies. Ask your lender for the monthly amount on your loan.
8. Add up the pieces and compare. Example: $2,181 + $367 + $167 ≈ $2,715.

To check your work, compare your total with the Loan Estimate a lender gives you. Property taxes and homeowners' insurance can be paid from an escrow account, so ask whether your quote includes them.

How Rate and Loan Term Change the Payment

The grid below holds the loan at $320,000 on a 30-year term and changes only the rate. Each half-point adds roughly $100 or more to the monthly principal and interest.

Rate	Monthly P&I on $320,000	Change from previous row
5.5%	≈ $1,817	—
6.0%	≈ $1,919	+ $102
6.5%	≈ $2,023	+ $104
7.0%	≈ $2,129	+ $106
7.5%	≈ $2,237	+ $108

Here is how two recent Freddie Mac readings translate on the same loan:

Week of	30-year average	Approx. P&I on $320,000
September 24, 2026	7.03%	≈ $2,135
October 29, 2026	7.24%	≈ $2,181

Rates change from week to week, so a current quote is more useful than a headline average.

Example: 15-year vs. 30-year term. To isolate the effect of the term, say both loans are $320,000 at 7.24%. Your actual 15-year quote will differ, so ask your lender.

Term	Monthly P&I	Total interest over the loan
30 years	≈ $2,181	≈ $465,000
15 years	≈ $2,919	≈ $205,000

The shorter term costs about $740 more per month in this example, but the total interest is far lower. Total interest is monthly payment × number of payments − loan amount.

Taxes, Insurance, and Loan Type: Why Your Payment May Differ

Property taxes and insurance vary by location, and they can move your payment by hundreds of dollars. The scenarios below are illustrations, not data for any particular state or county.

Scenario	Property tax (% of price/yr)	Insurance (% of price/yr)	Tax + insurance per month	Total with $2,181 P&I (20% down)
Low	0.5% ($167/mo)	0.3% ($100/mo)	≈ $267	≈ $2,448
Mid	1.1% ($367/mo)	0.5% ($167/mo)	≈ $534	≈ $2,715
High	2.0% ($667/mo)	0.8% ($267/mo)	≈ $934	≈ $3,115

The gap between the low and high rows is about $667 a month on the same loan. Before you rely on any estimate, look up the actual tax bill and get an insurance quote for the home you are considering.

Loan type matters too:

Loan type	How mortgage insurance or fees work
FHA	Requires an upfront mortgage insurance premium
VA	Has a funding fee but typically no PMI

If your taxes or insurance are paid through escrow, a change in either bill can change your total monthly payment. Ask your servicer how and when it reviews the escrow account.

Want to see how another market stacks up? Read the cost of buying a house in Austin for a city-level budget.

Cash Needed at Closing on a $400k Home

Cash to close equals the down payment plus closing costs, minus any credits or deposits already paid. The Estimated Cash to Close on your Loan Estimate is the amount due at closing in addition to money already paid, usually by cashier's check or wire transfer.

Closing costs typically run 2% to 5% of the purchase price, not including the down payment. Applied to $400,000, that is a range of $8,000 to $20,000.

Example: cash to close before credits or deposits (using the 2%–5% range)

Down payment	Down payment ($)	Closing costs	Cash to close
3.5%	$14,000	$8,000–$20,000	$22,000–$34,000
5%	$20,000	$8,000–$20,000	$28,000–$40,000
10%	$40,000	$8,000–$20,000	$48,000–$60,000
20%	$80,000	$8,000–$20,000	$88,000–$100,000

One typical line item is a lender origination fee of 0.5% to 1% of the loan amount. On the $320,000 loan from our 20% down example, that would be about $1,600 to $3,200.

Discount points add to the total. About 50.2 percent of home purchase borrowers paid discount points in 2022, up from 32.1 percent in 2021. These are 2022 figures and may differ in today's market.

For context, the median amount borrowers paid in total loan costs and fees in 2022 was nearly $6,000, and median total loan costs on home purchase loans rose 21.8 percent from 2021 to 2022. Because these costs vary, the CFPB advises requesting multiple Loan Estimates from different lenders to compare and choose a loan.

Checklist: Can You Afford a $400k House?

Use this list to match the payment to your own budget. Fill in your numbers rather than relying on rules of thumb.

• Write down your gross monthly income and your take-home pay.
• List existing monthly debts: car loans, student loans, credit card minimums.
• Ask a lender how your debt-to-income ratio would look with the new payment.
• Get a quote for the full PITI payment, including mortgage insurance and any HOA dues.
• Look up the home's actual property tax bill and get a homeowners insurance quote.
• Decide how much of your savings you are comfortable spending on the down payment.
• Add estimated closing costs to find your cash to close.
• Keep a cash reserve for moving, repairs and surprises after closing.
• Compare at least two or three Loan Estimates before choosing a lender.

Try several down payment sizes in the mortgage calculator if you are still deciding how much to put down. A loan officer or housing counselor can help with decisions specific to your situation.

For related reading, see Cost of Buying a House in Austin: A Budget Guide.