How much do I need for a down payment?

Conventional loans start around 3% for qualifying buyers and FHA at 3.5%, while 20% avoids mortgage insurance entirely. VA and USDA loans allow zero down for eligible borrowers.

What are closing costs when buying a home?

Typically 2-5% of the purchase price for a buyer, covering origination, appraisal, title insurance, recording fees and prepaid taxes and insurance.

How much does it cost to sell a house?

Commonly 6-10% of the sale price once agent commissions, transfer taxes, title fees and typical repair credits are included.

Is buying always better than renting?

No. Buying wins over long horizons and loses over short ones, because transaction costs on both ends need years of price growth and principal repayment to recover.

What credit score do I need to buy a house?

FHA lending is available from around 580 with 3.5% down, conventional loans typically from 620, and the best pricing generally requires 740 or above.

Real estate

Real Estate: Buying, Selling and Investing in Property

Property is the largest transaction most households ever make, and almost all of the avoidable cost sits in three places: the mortgage rate, the closing costs, and the assumptions behind an investment property's projected return.

These guides cover buying a first home, and evaluating a rental property with numbers rather than optimism.

Data snapshot

U.S. home price index

337

As of June 1, 2026 · S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller via FRED

Year over year: +1.5%
12-month range: 327 – 337

A national house price index. It measures changes in the price of the same homes over time, which is a cleaner signal of the market than the median sale price.

Start here

Buying a House: Costs, Steps and Timeline

Every cost, in the order you will meet it.

Read the guide

Rental Property Investing: Run the Numbers First

Cap rate, cash flow and the costs beginners forget.

Read the guide

Mortgage payment calculator

Your mortgage payment information

Home value

Down payment

Loan amount

$320,000

Interest rate

Loan termStart dateZip code

Property tax

$4,800/yr

PMI✓ Not required

Home insurance / month

Monthly HOA

Loan type

Payment breakdown by year

Mortgage repayment summary

Monthly principal & interest: $2,101.10
Monthly property tax: $400.00
Monthly PMI: Not required
Monthly home insurance: $150.00
Monthly HOA: $0
Total monthly payment: $2,651.10
Down payment: $80,000
Down payment %: 20%
Loan-to-value (LTV): 80%
Total interest paid: $436,397
Total property tax paid: $144,000
Total home insurance paid: $54,000
Loan pay-off date: Sep 2056
Annual payment: $31,813
Total of 360 payments: $954,397

Data sourced from

Freddie Mac PMMS
U.S. Census Bureau
Federal Reserve FRED
Fannie Mae LLPA

Freddie Mac PMMS
U.S. Census Bureau — ACS 5-year tables B19013_001E, B25064_001E, B25077_001E · observed 5-year estimates, 2023 vintage
Federal Reserve FRED — series MORTGAGE30US, SAVNRT, TERMCBAUTO48NS (FRED series IDs) · observed latest weekly and monthly observations, 2026
Fannie Mae LLPA

Amortization schedule

Annual amortization schedule
Year	Principal	Interest	Total Payment	Balance
2026	$3,333	$21,880	$25,213	$316,667
2027	$3,569	$21,644	$25,213	$313,098
2028	$3,822	$21,391	$25,213	$309,276
2029	$4,093	$21,120	$25,213	$305,182
2030	$4,384	$20,830	$25,213	$300,799
2031	$4,694	$20,519	$25,213	$296,104
2032	$5,027	$20,186	$25,213	$291,077
2033	$5,384	$19,830	$25,213	$285,694
2034	$5,765	$19,448	$25,213	$279,928
2035	$6,174	$19,039	$25,213	$273,754
2036	$6,612	$18,601	$25,213	$267,142
2037	$7,081	$18,132	$25,213	$260,061
2038	$7,583	$17,630	$25,213	$252,478
2039	$8,120	$17,093	$25,213	$244,358
2040	$8,696	$16,517	$25,213	$235,662
2041	$9,313	$15,900	$25,213	$226,349
2042	$9,973	$15,240	$25,213	$216,376
2043	$10,680	$14,533	$25,213	$205,695
2044	$11,438	$13,776	$25,213	$194,258
2045	$12,249	$12,965	$25,213	$182,009
2046	$13,117	$12,096	$25,213	$168,892
2047	$14,047	$11,166	$25,213	$154,845
2048	$15,043	$10,170	$25,213	$139,801
2049	$16,110	$9,103	$25,213	$123,691
2050	$17,252	$7,961	$25,213	$106,439
2051	$18,475	$6,738	$25,213	$87,964
2052	$19,785	$5,428	$25,213	$68,178
2053	$21,188	$4,025	$25,213	$46,990
2054	$22,691	$2,523	$25,213	$24,300
2055	$24,300	$914	$25,213	$0

Month-by-month amortization schedule
Month	Principal	Interest	Payment	Balance
Month 1	$269	$1,832	$2,101	$319,731
Month 2	$271	$1,830	$2,101	$319,460
Month 3	$272	$1,829	$2,101	$319,188
Month 4	$274	$1,827	$2,101	$318,914
Month 5	$275	$1,826	$2,101	$318,639
Month 6	$277	$1,824	$2,101	$318,362
Month 7	$278	$1,823	$2,101	$318,084
Month 8	$280	$1,821	$2,101	$317,804
Month 9	$282	$1,819	$2,101	$317,522
Month 10	$283	$1,818	$2,101	$317,239
Month 11	$285	$1,816	$2,101	$316,954
Month 12	$287	$1,815	$2,101	$316,667
Month 13	$288	$1,813	$2,101	$316,379
Month 14	$290	$1,811	$2,101	$316,089
Month 15	$291	$1,810	$2,101	$315,798
Month 16	$293	$1,808	$2,101	$315,504
Month 17	$295	$1,806	$2,101	$315,210
Month 18	$297	$1,805	$2,101	$314,913
Month 19	$298	$1,803	$2,101	$314,615
Month 20	$300	$1,801	$2,101	$314,315
Month 21	$302	$1,799	$2,101	$314,013
Month 22	$303	$1,798	$2,101	$313,710
Month 23	$305	$1,796	$2,101	$313,405
Month 24	$307	$1,794	$2,101	$313,098

The tool above estimates monthly mortgage payments with property taxes, homeowner's insurance, PMI and HOA fees included. Adjust any field and the chart, the summary and the amortization table update in real time.

Principal and interest (P&I) is the base payment calculated from your loan amount, interest rate and term. Property taxes, insurance, PMI and HOA dues are added on top to show your true all-in monthly cost.

Related tools and data

Mortgage rate tracker

Current 30-year and 15-year rates and their trend.

Home affordability calculator

What price your income and deposit actually support.

Mortgage approvals & denials

HMDA lending data: who gets approved, who gets denied and why, by state and county.

House price index by state

One-year and five-year price growth from the FHFA repeat-sales index.

What people search for

Monthly US search volume for the questions this page answers, from our keyword research set.

Search query	Monthly searches	Difficulty
refinance auto loan	165,000	86
refinance car loan	165,000	90
costco car rental	165,000	85
rates for home loans	135,000	94
interest rate for mortgages	135,000	95
cross country mortgage	135,000	77
carrington mortgage	135,000	79
guild mortgage	135,000	91
roundpoint mortgage	110,000	90
21st mortgage	96,200	68