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    Mortgage Calculator

    NJ MORTGAGE CALCULATOR

    Your real monthly payment on a New Jersey home, with the property tax most calculators leave out.

    Estimated monthly payment

    $5,936/mo

    Loan amount $680,000

    Principal and interest
    $4,298
    Property tax
    $1,488
    Insurance
    $150

    Estimate only. Your rate, taxes, and insurance will vary; PMI is figured at 0.6% of the loan per year and drops off at 20% equity.

    WHY NEW JERSEY PAYMENTS RUN HIGHER THAN THE NATIONAL CALCULATORS SAY

    National mortgage calculators default to a property tax rate near 1%. New Jersey's average effective rate is around 2.3%, the highest in the country, and that difference changes the answer by over a thousand dollars a month at northern New Jersey prices. This calculator defaults to 2.1%, a realistic figure for many Bergen County towns, and lets you set the exact rate for the town you're looking at.

    Here's a worked example at the Bergen County median. On an $850,000 single-family home with 20% down and a 30-year loan at 6.5%, the principal and interest on the $680,000 balance is about $4,300 a month. Property tax at 2.1% adds roughly $1,490 and insurance about $150, so the true payment is close to $5,900 a month. A calculator that ignores New Jersey taxes would have told you $4,450.

    Towns matter as much as prices. Two similar houses in Fort Lee and Palisades Park can carry different tax bills, and condos add association fees that lenders count toward what you qualify for. Before you set a budget, it's worth checking the actual tax line on a few current listings, or just asking. Aiden reviews the numbers with buyers in Korean or English before the first showing.

    Selling as well as buying? The closing cost calculator shows what a sale nets after the transfer fee and commission, and the home valuation page is where to start on price. When you're ready to look at homes, the MLS listings search covers Bergen, Hudson, and most of northern New Jersey.

    MORTGAGE QUESTIONS, ANSWERED

    The numbers below use the same schedules as the calculator.

    With 20% down and a 30-year loan at 6.5%, the principal and interest on the $680,000 balance comes to about $4,300 a month. Property tax at a typical 2.1% adds roughly $1,490, and insurance around $150, so the full payment lands near $5,900 a month. At today's Bergen County median price, that is the realistic number to plan around.

    New Jersey's average effective property tax rate is around 2.3%, among the highest in the country, but it swings widely by town. Many Bergen County towns fall between 1.5% and 2.5%. The calculator defaults to 2.1%; for a real house, look up that town's current rate or ask for the actual tax bill, which every listing discloses.

    Conventional loans go as low as 3% down and FHA 3.5%, but below 20% you pay PMI, roughly 0.3% to 1% of the loan per year until you reach 20% equity. In competitive northern New Jersey towns a larger down payment also strengthens the offer itself, since sellers read it as a lower risk of financing falling through.

    Private mortgage insurance protects the lender when the down payment is under 20%. It is billed monthly on top of the payment. It cancels automatically at 22% equity, and you can request removal at 20%, either by paying the balance down or after a new appraisal shows the value has risen.

    Only if you enter one. Condos and townhouses in northern New Jersey commonly carry $200 to $600 a month in association fees, and lenders count that amount when qualifying you, so leaving it out understates the real monthly cost of a condo by a wide margin.

    Want these numbers run for a specific house and town?

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