$144 a Month: The Difference A Year Makes in Interest Rates

• March 24, 2017

by UrbanTurf Staff

One year ago, the average on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage was 3.71 percent. Yesterday, Freddie Mac reported 4.23 percent as the average on this type of loan. So, how does that change in rates impact your mortgage payments?

To get a sense, UrbanTurf took a home with a $600,000 purchase price and assumed our buyer has excellent credit. Using the current rates and rates from last year, we examined how monthly mortgage payments changed. In each case, we assumed the buyer put down a 20 percent down payment. Note that these include principal and interest, but not the cost of insurance or taxes.

Here are the two scenarios:

March 2016: The average mortgage rate was 3.71 percent.

Monthly mortgage payment: $2,212
Total outlay on mortgage (monthly payment x 360 months): $796,347

March 2017: The average mortgage rate is 4.23 percent.

Monthly mortgage payment: $2,356
Total outlay on mortgage (monthly payment x 360 months): $848,050

So, the difference between a rate of 3.71 percent and 4.23 percent is about $144 a month or $51,703 over the life of the loan.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/144_the_difference_a_year_makes_in_interest_rates/12371