Buying

Price vs. rate

Hold your payment and move the rate: the price it carries at each rate, and what a 1% rate change is worth in price.

A typical recent 30-year rate. Edit to your lender's quote.

Property tax: 2.25% typical in Harris County. Typical total rate for the 17,904 homes for sale in Harris County (median of their certified 2025 tax bills; most are between 2.13% and 2.51%). Add your ZIP for a closer figure.

Typical in Harris County: $80/mo (74% of homes for sale there list an HOA). Set 0 if yours has none.

Same payment, every rate

$28,189 of price per 1% of rate

Your payment on $400,000 at 6.69%
$3,659/mo
A rate 1% lower saves
$246/mo
The price cut that saves the same
$27,538

A lower price and a lower rate aren’t the same deal: a lower price also shrinks the down payment and the property tax, and it lasts for the life of the loan. A lower rate can be refinanced later; a price can’t be renegotiated after closing.

Live listings across our six counties.

Hold your $3,659 monthly payment and move the rate: the middle column is the price that payment carries, at 5% down. The right column keeps the $400,000 price and shows the payment instead. Property tax, insurance, estimated PMI and your HOA included; your rate is highlighted.
RatePrice at your paymentPayment on $400,000
5.19%$445,456$3,294/mo
5.69%$429,573$3,413/mo
6.19%$414,428$3,535/mo
6.69% (yours)$400,000$3,659/mo
7.19%$386,264$3,787/mo
7.69%$373,195$3,917/mo
8.19%$360,767$4,049/mo

We’re not a lender. Principal & interest on a 30-year fixed plus the typical 2.25% property tax for Harris County, budgetary insurance (0.55%), estimated PMI under 20% down (Freddie Mac: about $30–$70 a month per $100,000 borrowed) and your HOA. Rates you can get depend on your credit, down payment and loan type — a lender will quote yours, and we’ll introduce you below.

Talk to a lender

These are the lenders Allen works with. For any lender you’d like to talk to, tap Make introduction — we’ll make the introduction for you.

Allen Markel is a licensed Texas REALTOR®, not a mortgage lender or loan originator. He does not quote rates or terms and does not decide whether you qualify — only a lender can do that. Introductions are a courtesy; you choose who to work with.

Numbers raising questions? Walk through them with a person.

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