Arkansas Mortgage Calculator: Estimate Your Monthly Payment
Updated: February 23, 2023
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When considering a home purchase in Arkansas, consider factors like your income and expenses and state tax rates. In Arkansas, the median value of a home is $129,500. If you’re comparing Arkansas to other states, mortgages cost around $175 less than the national average.
You pay for real estate taxes in addition to your mortgage payment. In Arkansas, the real estate tax is 0.62%, while property tax costs average $1,358 annually. Arkansas has the 11th lowest property taxes in the United States.
To get a personalized estimate of how much it costs to own a home in the state, MoneyGeek has an Arkansas mortgage calculator that allows you to adjust factors based on your situation. You can tweak interest rate, home price, insurance, down payment and more. In this guide, you learn why and how to use our Arkansas state mortgage calculator, ways to find a lower monthly payment, and the next steps in your mortgage journey, like comparing quotes from multiple lenders.
Start Here: Plug In Your Mortgage Factors
MoneyGeek’s Arkansas mortgage calculator gives you a holistic monthly estimate that considers the factors affecting a mortgage payment. If you have questions about what they are or their meaning, we explain each below.
Why and How to Use Our Mortgage Calculator
Homeowners in Arkansas pay an average of $984 a month on a mortgage. However, the cost of your home loan may differ based on your situation. Using MoneyGeek’s Arkansas state mortgage calculator, you can customize many factors to get a close estimate of your mortgage payment.
Some factors include interest rate, loan term, down payment amount, and the cost of the home. Plus, after you complete the Arkansas mortgage calculator and have an estimate of your monthly payment, you will have a comparison tool for when you apply for a mortgage to find the best lender based on your needs and budget.
To help with your decision-making, we cover the 12 homeownership factors that you need to know during the home buying process and when estimating your mortgage with the Arkansas calculator:
Home Price:
Enter the loan amount you’re looking for or how much you’re comfortable spending.
Down Payment:
You can input a dollar amount or use a percentage of the purchase price for the down payment section. Remember, a higher down payment decreases the monthly payment.
Interest Rate:
Input the interest rate of your loan. Each day, MoneyGeek gets mortgage rate reports from lenders.
Loan Terms:
Most loan terms are 15 or 30 years. However, you can choose when you’d like to have your mortgage paid off.
Payments per Year:
Refers to how often you pay in a year. The most common payment per year is 12, or once a month.
Property Tax:
You can input $1,358 as the annual property tax for Arkansas.
HOA Fees:
Depending on where you live, you may need to pay a homeowners association (HOA) fee. If so, enter the amount.
Principal & Interest:
This refers to how much you borrow from the lender. Principal is the amount of money you borrow, and interest is how much you compensate the lender for the loan.
Monthly Payment:
How much you pay per month, including property taxes, HOA dues, principal and interest.
Principal Payment:
Reduces the total balance of your loan when paid.
Interest Payment:
This is the amount the lender charges you for the mortgage loan — it does not reduce your loan balance.
Total Cost With Interest:
This is the amount you pay the lender for the loan throughout its term, with principal and interest.
Your home loan can be expensive due to factors like where you live, tax rates and interest rate. But if you’re budget-minded or want to pay less per month, there are several ways to reduce the cost of a mortgage in Arkansas.
- Less expensive house. Your monthly mortgage payment becomes more affordable if you get a smaller loan.
- Lower your interest rate. If you make a sizable down payment, your interest rate may decrease.
- Extend loan term. Although you pay more interest for extending a mortgage loan term, your monthly bill becomes more manageable. For example, if a 10-year term is too expensive per month, consider a 15- or 30-year term.
- Different location. The cost of your mortgage is affected by your location. In Arkansas, the real estate tax is 0.62%, and property tax costs around $1,358 per year. Eleven other states have a lower cost.
Next Steps: What To Do After You Have Estimated Your Mortgage Payments
It can be pretty challenging if it’s your first time purchasing a home and learning about mortgages. MoneyGeek gathered key information to guide you through the process.
- Shop & Compare Rates - The best mortgage lender depends on your needs and preferences. It’s ideal to shop around and compare mortgage rates in Arkansas.
- Not Ready To Buy? - Consider your situation to decide whether it’s better to rent or buy property in Arkansas.
- Learn More - There are various mortgage programs available. Read about FHA loans, VA home loans and reverse mortgages to find what suits you best.
Frequently Asked Questions About Mortgages in Arkansas
Lenders compute how much you can afford based on a debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. While a home loan is considered affordable at a DTI of 43% or less, affordability also depends on how much you’re willing to spend on a mortgage.
On average, the outstanding mortgage amount in Arkansas is $129,383.
It depends on your mortgage program. Some programs require less than a 5% down payment, while some government-supported programs through the VA and USDA don’t require a down payment.
With a conventional loan, you’re generally required to have private mortgage insurance (PMI) when you have less than 20% for a down payment.
The cost of property taxes depends on where you live, and it determines the cost of your monthly mortgage payment. In Arkansas, the average annual property tax is $1,358.
Arkansas homeowners pay an average of $984 monthly for a mortgage payment, which is around $175 less than the national average.
The median home price is $129,500 in Arkansas.