Homeowners in California have several ways to convert their home equity into cash. One common…
Average Monthly Mortgage Payment in San Diego: 2017
Summary: Based on current housing and interest costs, the average monthly payment for a 30-year fixed mortgage loan in San Diego, California is around $2,475. But this number can vary widely from one neighborhood to the next, due to varying costs.
Home prices rose in most California cities over the last couple of years. Mortgage rates have also been on the rise lately, including a major surge over the last few weeks. As a result, the average mortgage payment in San Diego has risen as well.
There is no official source for data relating to average mortgage payments in California. But we can reach an approximate figure just by using current housing costs and interest rates.
Calculating Monthly Payments with PITI
We will use the standard PITI breakdown to measure the average mortgage payment among San Diego homeowners. PITI is an acronym that describes the four different components that make up a standard monthly mortgage payment. The letters stand for: principal, interest, taxes and insurance.
Home prices: According to Redfin and CoreLogic, the median home price in San Diego was around $510,000 in December of 2016. So that’s the home price figure we will use to calculate average monthly payments.
Down payments: A 2015 study by RealtyTrac found that the average down payment among home buyers nationwide was around 14%. But in California, there are many buyers who put down less than this amount. So we’ll use 10% for this calculation.
Loan amount: Based on the median home price and down payment amount above, we end up with a base loan amount of $459,000. This is the principal amount (the ‘P’ in the PITI acronym) that we will use to calculate the average mortgage payment in San Diego.
Mortgage rates: According to the weekly survey conducted by Freddie Mac, the average rate for a 30-year fixed home loan rose to 4.16% during the second week of December 2016. The 30-year fixed is by far the most popular mortgage option used by home buyers in San Diego. So that’s the interest rate we used for our calculation.
Taxes: According to Smartasset.com and other sources, Californians pay an average of $2,000 per year in property taxes. This amount will vary from one county to the next, since property taxes are generally set at the county level. But we’ll use the statewide average to determine the average monthly mortgage payment in San Diego. (This is the ‘T’ in PITI.)
Insurance: Homeowners in the state pay an average of around $900 per year in home insurance premiums. These premiums are often paid as part of the monthly mortgage payment (they’re the second ‘I’ in PITI). So we’ll include them in our calculation. Insurance will only have a small impact on the final payment amount.
Average Mortgage Payment in San Diego, 2017
Plugging the numbers from the previous section into a standard PITI mortgage calculator gives us the following results:
- Mortgage amount: $459,000
- Loan term: 30 years
- Interest rate: 4.16%
- Monthly payment (principal and interest only): $2,234
- Monthly payment (with taxes and insurance): $2,475
Granted, this is a very basic calculation that leaves out certain variables for the sake of simplicity. For instance, some borrowers choose to pay discount points up front in exchange for a lower interest rate. This is just one variable that can affect monthly payments.
This is not meant to be a precise measurement of average mortgage payments in San Diego, but merely a ballpark figure based on current housing costs. It also shows how you could estimate your own housing costs, based on the variables used above.
Related: San Diego housing market forecast
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Disclaimer: This article estimates the average monthly mortgage payment in San Diego by incorporating home price and mortgage rate data from third-party sources. Your monthly payments will vary based on the size of your loan and the mortgage rate you receive, among other factors. Please contact us if you have questions or would like to get a quote for a loan.
