this post was submitted on 06 Jun 2026
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me_irl
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Point taken, but where are you in the world with an 8.5% mortgage? Rates in the US for 30 year mortgages are around 6.5% right now (source: https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US)
the baseline is around 6.5% but I don't think most people get that, plus it was up around 7.5% six months ago
the numbers in the meme are definitely closer to what we've seen recently
When I bought my first house - doing so with decent income but pretty bad credit - I did so at 6.25%.
Everyone in the room recoiled at such an apparently high number.
Nowhere but then the infographic would have been less shocking.
https://www.globalpropertyguide.com/mortgage-interest-rates
My math says that the monthly principal+interest on that house is more like $4,300 a month, assuming:
Not insignificant, but not wildly off like the infographic.
You gotta roll home owners insurance in there, and taxes.
That's realistic, but the infographic doesn't include tax and insurance. Working backwards, it has:
The monthly principal-and-interest payment is exactly as the post said, $2024 / month.
Has insurance gone up? Absolutely? Have property taxes generally rise? They have. But this is an honest like-for-like comparison.
Who has 120k lying around for a down payment?
Someone selling a home they already own. I know thats not helpful to most, but thats the only realistic way to have 120k sitting around
That's "only" (checks average income in the U.S.) 2 years of average income in the U.S.
Oh, and that's $120K after tax
$2024 > $4300 is more than double, while also assuming saving an extra $50,000 in downpayment while that cost increased.
Although the down payment has less impact. But nonetheless, that lower payment boosts the loan to about $4600.
Wages aren't doubling.
Oh, I agree with you, and concur with the spirit of the infographic. I just like accurate calculations!
We don't do 30 years here anymore. Its 25, and most people can't do the 20% down, its 5% for first time homebuyer
Fun fact: the increase in monthly payment going from a 30-year down to a 20-year mortgage is less than 20-year to 15-year.
This is also why the talk about longer mortgages should be a non-starter.