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What is the monthly payment on a $200,000 mortgage?

Yahoo Personal Finance· Getty Images
7 min read

With the median price of single-family homes sitting at well over $400,000, a $200,000 home loan falls on the more affordable end of the mortgage spectrum. Still, regardless of your loan amount, you should take the time to understand what your monthly homeownership costs may look like.

Here’s what you can expect to pay each month on a $200,000 mortgage, as well as the factors that may affect these monthly payments.

Read more: Monthly mortgage payment calculator

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Your monthly mortgage payment on a $200,000 home loan depends on how long your loan term is and the interest rate you get. Other costs, such as homeowners insurance, private mortgage insurance, and property taxes, will also affect your monthly payments — but we’ll cover those later.

Your loan term refers to the amount of time it will take you to repay your mortgage in full. A shorter loan term typically means higher monthly payments since you have less time to pay back the money you borrowed. For example, if you take out a $200,000 30-year mortgage with a 7% fixed interest rate, your monthly mortgage payment toward principal and interest would be around $1,331. But, if you shorten your loan term to 15 years, your monthly costs would jump to $1,798.

The example provided above is just to give you an idea of how different mortgage terms can impact your monthly payments. In practice, you’ll see that interest rates tend to be slightly lower on shorter-term mortgages. For example, the interest rate on a 30-year $200,000 loan might be 7%, while the rate on a 15-year mortgage for the same amount is slightly lower at 6.50%. This means you’ll ultimately save money with a shorter-term mortgage because your rate will be lower, and you’ll pay off the loan quicker.

Dig deeper: 15-year vs. 30-year mortgage — How to decide which is better

The higher the mortgage interest rate, the higher your monthly mortgage payment. For example, if you take out a $200,000 30-year mortgage at a 5.75% interest rate, your monthly payment toward principal and interest will be $1,167 — but the same $200,000 30-year mortgage at a 7% interest rate will have a monthly payment of $1,331

While the $164 difference may not seem like a whole lot, it quickly adds up to around $2,000 extra a year and almost $60,000 over the life of your loan. Note that these numbers have not factored in the cost of insurance or property taxes.

Your mortgage rates are influenced by many factors, including market interest rates, your credit score, the size of your down payment, and your mortgage type. Rates can also vary from lender to lender, so always get quotes from multiple mortgage lenders to find the best option.

Read more: The best mortgage lenders for first-time home buyers

The table below will give you an idea of how loan terms and interest rates impact your $200,000 mortgage. These numbers don’t include additional homeownership costs like property taxes and mortgage insurance.

Read more:

If you get a fixed-rate mortgage, mortgage payments toward the principal and interest stay the same each month. However, the amount that goes toward interest will decrease over the years as the principal portion increases.

Here’s why: Your interest payments are calculated based on the amount you owe on the mortgage principal. So, it makes sense that they’re the highest in the early years of the mortgage when the outstanding principal is at its highest. As you chip away at the principal over the life of the loan, the amount going toward the principal will grow larger while the amount going toward interest declines.

Here’s a breakdown of the mortgage amortization schedule on a 30-year $200,000 mortgage with a 7% interest rate to give you a better idea of what your monthly payments and repayment schedule will look like. The amounts below have been rounded to the nearest dollar.

Your mortgage term length and interest rate aren’t the only things to consider when taking out a $200,000 mortgage. Some additional costs may be rolled into your mortgage and affect your monthly payments. The factors that make up a monthly mortgage payment are referred to as PITI (principal, interest, taxes, insurance).

Homeowners insurance is a financial protection policy that pays a lump sum if your house is damaged or destroyed by a covered peril, such as fire or smoke, vandalism, theft, and other unforeseen events. No law forces you to buy homeowners insurance, but most mortgage lenders won’t finance your home unless you purchase coverage since they have a financial stake in the house.

The average cost of homeowners insurance in the U.S. is $1,754 annually, or $146 monthly, according to a 2023 Policygenius analysis of home insurance premiums in every U.S. state and ZIP code.

Property tax is an annual or semiannual charge levied by a local government and is typically calculated by multiplying your property's assessed value by the local tax rate. Property tax rates vary from location to location, but the average level of property taxes paid in 2021 across the United States was $1,682.

Though you can pay property taxes directly to your local tax office, most lenders will pay taxes on your behalf by keeping your money in an escrow account and rolling them into your monthly mortgage payments.

Private mortgage insurance (PMI) is a type of mortgage insurance you’re required to buy if you take out a conventional loan and put less than 20% down. This insurance is meant to financially protect the lender if you stop making payments on your mortgage. PMI can cost anywhere from $30 to $70 monthly for every $100,000 you borrow, according to Freddie Mac.

FHA loans also come with mortgage insurance, but it’s called an FHA mortgage insurance premium (MIP) and is mandatory regardless of the size of your down payment. MIP has two parts: up-front MIP and annual MIP. Up-front MIP costs 1.75% of your mortgage amount, or $3,500 on a $200,000 loan. Annual MIP varies based on the size, term, and loan-to-value ratio (LTV).

Read more: Explaining LTV and how it impacts your mortgage

If your $200,000 home is within a homeowners' association community, you typically have to pay HOA dues on top of your PITI payments. These fees help cover the costs of maintaining common areas and shared amenities, like a pool or fitness room.

Though HOA fees can vary pretty dramatically depending on your location, the National Association of REALTORS (NAR) found that the average monthly HOA fee nationwide is around $259. Adding $259 to your monthly mortgage payments can put even more of a strain on your wallet if you're already on a tight budget, so think carefully before committing to a property with an HOA.

The income you need for a $200,000 mortgage depends on things like the current mortgage rates, your debt-to-income ratio (DTI), down payment amount, and credit score. Let’s say you can put 20% down ($40,000) to avoid private mortgage insurance and have no other monthly debt payments. Then, according to our home affordability calculator, you need to make around $55,000 or more to afford a $200,000 30-year loan with a 6.5% interest rate.

Everyone’s situation is different, but you might be able to afford a $200,000 house with a $50,000 salary, assuming you put 20% down to avoid PMI and have no debts weighing you down. While it’s doable, it might be a bit of a stretch on your finances.

The most common mortgage loan term is 30 or 15 years, but some lenders do offer 10-year terms. You could also pay off your home loan within a decade if you get a 15- or 30-year term but pay extra toward your mortgage principal. Check with your mortgage lender first, though, since some might charge prepayment penalties.

This article was edited by Laura Grace Tarpley