Monthly Mortgage Payment on a $400,000 House (at Today's Rates)

The quick answer

On a $400,000 house with 20% down ($80,000) and a 30-year fixed loan at 7.40%, which was the national average in Freddie Mac's mortgage rate survey for the week of October 15, 2026, the principal and interest come to $2,215.62 a month. Add typical property tax and homeowners insurance, and the total is about $2,716 a month.

Your actual payment depends on your rate, down payment and local taxes. Enter your own numbers in our mortgage calculator to see your exact monthly cost and a full amortization schedule.

What's in the $2,716 monthly payment

A mortgage payment is more than the loan itself. Most lenders collect property tax and insurance with each payment and hold them in an escrow account. Here's the breakdown for a $400,000 home with 20% down at 7.40% over 30 years:

Taxes and insurance are the parts most likely to differ for you. Property tax rates vary a lot between states and even between neighboring counties, so check your county assessor's website for the actual rate. For insurance, the most recent national figure from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, quoted by the Insurance Information Institute, was an average premium of $1,569 for 2022. Premiums have risen sharply since then, so we use $2,000 a year. If you'll pay HOA fees, add them on top. Freddie Mac's guide to the parts of a mortgage payment explains each piece in more detail.

Payment with 20%, 10%, 5% or 3.5% down

A smaller down payment means a bigger loan and, on a conventional loan, private mortgage insurance (PMI) until you have enough equity. Same house, same 7.40% rate, same taxes and insurance:

PMI pricing depends on your credit score and how much you put down. Freddie Mac says to expect roughly $30–$70 a month for every $100,000 borrowed, and Fannie Mae puts the full range at 0.2% to 2% of the loan per year. The table uses 0.6%, which is about $50 per $100,000. Note that 3.5% down is typical of FHA loans, which carry their own mortgage insurance (MIP) with different rules and costs.

PMI doesn't last forever. Under federal law you can ask your servicer to cancel it once your balance reaches 80% of the home's original value, and it must end automatically when you're scheduled to reach 78% (CFPB). At 7.40%, that happens around year 10 with 10% down and around year 13 with 5% down if you only make the regular payments.

How the interest rate changes your payment

Rates move every week, and even half a point makes a real difference over 30 years. Here's the principal and interest on the same $320,000 loan (20% down) at different rates:

As a rule of thumb, each half-point on this loan is worth about $105–$110 a month and roughly $38,000 in interest over the life of the loan. A year ago, Freddie Mac's 30-year average was 6.27%, which would have meant a principal-and-interest payment of $1,974.46, about $241 a month less than today.

Got a rate quote from a lender? Plug it into the monthly mortgage payment calculator along with your real tax and insurance figures to see your exact number.

15-year vs. 30-year on a $400k house

Freddie Mac's 15-year average was 6.71% in the same week. With 20% down, the 15-year loan costs much more each month but saves a huge amount of interest:

• 30-year at 7.40%: $2,215.62 principal and interest, $477,622 total interest.
• 15-year at 6.71%: $2,824.62 principal and interest, $188,431 total interest.

That's about $609 more a month for the 15-year loan, in exchange for roughly $289,000 less interest and owning the house outright 15 years sooner. If the higher payment is too tight, a 30-year loan with extra principal payments whenever you can afford them gets you part of the way there while keeping the flexibility.

Where your money goes in the first years

Early payments are mostly interest. In the first year of the 30-year loan at 7.40%, you pay $26,587 in principal and interest, and $23,579 of that is interest. Only $3,008 goes toward the balance, which is still $316,992 after twelve payments. After 10 years, you still owe about $277,129.

This is why extra payments are so effective early on. Every extra dollar goes straight to principal and saves interest for the rest of the loan.

How much income do you need for a $400k house?

A common rule of thumb is to keep your total housing payment at or below about 28% of your gross monthly income. Lenders also look at your other debts, credit score and savings. With 20% down at today's rates, a $2,716 payment works out to roughly $9,700 a month, or about $116,000 a year in gross income. With 5% down, the higher $3,321 payment pushes that to around $142,000 a year.

Ways to lower your monthly payment

• Shop several lenders. Rates and fees for the same borrower can vary noticeably, and a fraction of a point adds up to tens of thousands of dollars.
• Put down 20% if you can. It removes PMI, which costs $180–$190 a month in the examples above.
• Ask about discount points. Paying points at closing buys a lower rate. It's worth it if you plan to keep the loan long enough to recover the upfront cost.
• Check your property tax assessment. If it looks too high compared with similar homes, most counties have an appeal process.
• Shop your insurance every year, and consider a higher deductible if you have savings to cover it.

Try each option in our mortgage calculator: change the down payment, rate or tax amount and the payment updates instantly.

Sources & further reading

1. Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), week of October 15, 2026 — Freddie Mac
2. Breaking down PMI — My Home by Freddie Mac
3. What to Know About Private Mortgage Insurance — Fannie Mae
4. When can I remove private mortgage insurance (PMI) from my loan? — Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
5. Facts + Statistics: Homeowners and renters insurance — Insurance Information Institute
6. The 7 Parts of a Mortgage Payment — My Home by Freddie Mac