Calculate mortgages costs as interest rates remain near recent highs

Mortgage rates have been at their highest point in more than 20 years, adding thousands in costs for would-be home buyers. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage has risen to 6.1 percent as of Oct. 4, according to the Freddie Mac, up from an average of about 3 percent in December 2021.

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Below, you can see how this jump affects the monthly cost of a typical mortgage. If you already have a mortgage, plug in your existing interest rate to see how much more expensive it would be if you signed today.

While the principal — the amount borrowed that needs to be paid back — stays the same, the change in interest payments can be enormous. Over the course of a 30-year mortgage, additional interest can add up to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The 6.1 percent figure is just the average 30-year rate. The actual rate that a home buyer gets depends on other factors such as income, debt, credit history and the size of the down payment.

To tame inflation, the Federal Reserve has been raising interest rates. This makes buying a home even more expensive in a market where home values skyrocketed during the pandemic.

Illustration by Alyssa Fowers.