The mortgage payment is roughly two-thirds of what owning costs. Add property tax, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, maintenance at an estimated 1%–2% of value a year, utilities, and any HOA dues, and the real monthly number typically lands 30%–50% above principal and interest alone.
Everything the payment quote leaves out
Lenders qualify you on PITI — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — which is genuinely more honest than the payment figure in a listing, and still incomplete. PITI ignores maintenance entirely, and maintenance is the line that does not stop when the loan is paid off.
| Line | Typical monthly | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Principal & interest at 6.58% | $2,549 | amortization, 30-yr |
| Property tax | $183–$733 | 0.5%–2.0% of value a year |
| Homeowners insurance | ~$255 | $3,057 projected 2026 average |
| PMI (under 20% down) | $167–$500 | 0.5%–1.5% of loan a year |
| Maintenance reserve | $367–$733 | 1%–2% of value a year |
| Utilities | $250–$450 | varies by size, climate, and rates |
Arithmetic on the stated rates and ranges. Property tax and insurance vary enormously by state; the mortgage payment is the only line that is genuinely fixed.
Two of those lines rise every year without asking. Property assessments and insurance premiums are re-evaluated annually and your servicer adjusts the escrow portion of the payment to match — which is why a payment that rises by a hundred dollars at the annual escrow analysis is normal rather than an error.
Maintenance: the line people skip
The 1%–2%-of-value rule is the standard guidance, and it deserves an honest caveat: it is a rule of thumb, not a measured statistic. What makes it useful is not precision but timing. Maintenance does not arrive monthly — it arrives as a water heater in year three and a roof in year twelve, and the households that struggle are the ones that budgeted zero because nothing broke in year one.
- ·Roof — 20–30 years for asphalt, then $10,000–$25,000.
- ·HVAC — 15–20 years, then $3,500–$12,000 depending on system and efficiency.
- ·Water heater — 8–12 years, and it usually announces itself by flooding something.
- ·Exterior paint or siding — every 5–10 years for paint.
Set the reserve up as an automatic monthly transfer to a separate account. Treating it as a bill you pay yourself is the difference between a planned expense and a credit-card balance. The Home Maintenance Calculator prices a schedule for your specific house rather than a percentage.
Property tax and insurance: the geography tax
These two lines explain most of why the same house costs wildly different amounts to own in different states. Effective property tax rates on owner-occupied housing run from roughly 0.3% to just over 2% of value depending on the state (Tax Foundation) — on a $440,000 home, a spread of well over $7,000 a year between the extremes.
Insurance has been the faster-moving line. Insurify projects an average annual homeowners premium near $3,057 for 2026, and the state spread is wide enough that in the most exposed markets premiums have become a decisive factor in affordability rather than a footnote. Our insurance by state guide has the state-level detail; the Property Tax Calculator handles the other half.
On the tax side there is a partial offset if you itemize: state and local taxes, including property tax, are deductible up to $40,400 for 2026 per the IRS, reduced above $505,000 of modified AGI. Most households take the standard deduction and get nothing, so treat any deduction as a bonus rather than a plan.
Year one is the expensive year
Beyond the recurring stack, the first twelve months carry costs nobody quotes: closing costs of 2%–5% of the price, moving, immediate repairs the inspection found, window coverings and appliances the previous owner took, and the tools and equipment a house needs that an apartment did not.
- ·Cash to close — down payment, closing costs, earnest money, and reserves, worked at $300k/$400k/$500k.
- ·Hidden costs of buying — the line items that surprise first-time owners.
- ·Renovation costs — if the house needs work, price it before the offer rather than after.
The practical test before buying is not whether you can make the payment. It is whether you can make the payment, fund the maintenance reserve, and still absorb a $5,000 surprise in the same year. If the answer is no, the house is more expensive than it looks — regardless of what the lender approved.
Methodology
Monthly figures are arithmetic on the stated rates: principal and interest from the amortization formula at Freddie Mac's PMMS 30-year average for the week of July 23, 2026; property tax from the Tax Foundation range of effective rates; insurance from Insurify's projected 2026 average, which is a projection and labeled as one; PMI from the typical 0.5%–1.5% conventional band. The 1%–2% maintenance figure and the component lifespans are industry rules of thumb, not measured averages. SALT deduction figures are the IRS's 2026 limits. All figures are national; your state changes them materially.
Sources
- Freddie Mac — Primary Mortgage Market Survey — accessed 2026-07-29
- Tax Foundation — Property Taxes by State and County, 2026 — accessed 2026-07-29
- IRS — 2026 state and local tax deduction limit — accessed 2026-07-29
- CFPB — What fees or charges are paid when closing on a mortgage? — accessed 2026-07-29
- NAR — Existing-Home Sales, June 2026 — accessed 2026-07-29