Tucson Mortgage Calculator

A common guideline is the 36% rule: your total monthly debt payments — including the full housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, HOA) — should stay under about 36% of gross monthly income. For example, a household earning $80,000 a year with no other debt has roughly a $2,400 monthly housing budget, which supports a purchase price around $330,000–$340,000 with 10% down at a 6.5% rate. Use the affordability calculator above to run your own numbers, and get pre-approved with a lender to confirm.

Tucson's single-family median sale price was $390,000 in July 2026 (LiveBy / MLSSAZ). With 10% down at a 6.5% rate on a 30-year loan, the full monthly payment lands near $2,830 including taxes, insurance, and PMI — which fits a gross income of roughly $95,000 a year at a 36% debt-to-income ratio with minimal other debt. A larger down payment or down payment assistance lowers that bar.

Arizona property taxes are low compared to national averages. Effective rates in Pima County typically run about 0.6%–0.9% of market value per year depending on the area and districts — roughly $195–$293 a month on a $390,000 home. Owner-occupied primary residences receive a favorable assessment classification. The calculator defaults to 0.75% and lets you adjust it.

It depends on the loan program, and the calculator above enforces each minimum. Conventional 97 allows 3% down but only for first-time buyers, and only on site-built homes — manufactured housing is excluded. The standard conventional loan takes 5% down from any buyer, including on manufactured homes. FHA requires 3.5%. VA and USDA are 0% down for buyers who qualify. Putting 20% down avoids PMI entirely. Arizona also offers real help: HOME Plus (a silent second of up to 5%, forgiven after 60 months — repayable if you sell or refinance before then), PimaTucson LIGHTHOUSE (4%, forgivable), and City of Tucson DPA — see the Down Payment Assistance guide on this site for the current terms and income limits.

Roughly: VA if you are eligible, because 0% down with no monthly mortgage insurance beats everything else. USDA if the address is in an eligible area and your household income fits the limit. FHA if your credit is under about 660 or your debt-to-income is tight. Conventional 97 if you are a first-time buyer with solid credit buying a site-built home, since 3% down with cancellable PMI usually costs less over time than FHA. Conventional 5% down for repeat buyers, manufactured homes, and anyone who wants PMI that goes away at 20% equity. Switch between them in the calculator above to compare real monthly numbers.

USDA eligibility is drawn by map, not by how rural a place feels. Around Tucson, much of Marana, Vail, Sahuarita, Green Valley, and Benson falls inside eligible boundaries while the city core does not. Check the exact address on the USDA property eligibility map at eligibility.sc.egov.usda.gov before you fall in love with a house. Household income limits also apply and vary by county and household size. USDA loans are 0% down with a 1% guarantee fee financed into the loan and a 0.35% annual fee.

Budget roughly $189 a month, about $2,265 a year, on a $390,000 Tucson home. Local quotes generally run $2,160–$2,500 a year at $300,000 of dwelling coverage, and dwelling coverage sits below purchase price because a policy insures the structure, not the land. Notice the rate is regressive: insurance costs about 0.95% of price a year on a $150,000 home but only about 0.44% on a $1,000,000 one. Two things drive that — land is a bigger share of an expensive home, and the fixed part of a policy spreads thinner. Arizona is cheaper than the national average because there are no hurricanes and little severe hail. Older roofs, pools, and wildland-interface locations move the number most.

Budget about 3% of the purchase price — roughly $11,700 on a $390,000 Tucson home — though a typical Pima County itemization often lands nearer 2% to 2.5%. The list runs: lender origination and underwriting, appraisal (about $650), credit report, the lender's title policy, your half of the escrow fee, recording fees, prepaid interest, the first year of homeowners insurance, two to three months of property taxes into escrow, a home inspection (about $450), and a termite inspection (about $100). Arizona helps here: there is no real estate transfer tax, and in Pima County the seller customarily pays the owner's title policy.

Often, yes — it is called a seller concession or seller credit, and it is one of the most useful things to negotiate. The seller credits money at closing toward your costs, which cuts the cash you bring to the table without touching your down payment. Two limits apply. Your loan program caps it: conventional allows 3% of the price under 10% down, 6% from 10% to 25%, and 9% above that; FHA and USDA allow 6%; VA allows 4%. And a credit can never exceed your actual closing costs — you cannot take the surplus as cash. Buyers commonly offer slightly more on price in exchange, so it trades cash today for a marginally larger loan.

Private mortgage insurance is charged on conventional loans when your down payment is under 20%, typically 0.3%–1.0% of the loan amount per year ($85–$280 a month on a $340,000 loan). It is not permanent: it can be removed once you reach about 20% equity. FHA's version, MIP, works differently — it runs for the life of the loan when you put less than 10% down, which is why refinancing out of FHA later is so common. USDA charges a smaller 0.35% annual fee that also stays. VA loans carry no monthly mortgage insurance at all.

Yes — Tucson is home to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, and VA loans are common here: 0% down, no PMI, and competitive rates for eligible service members, veterans, and surviving spouses. Kyle Berglund regularly works PCS timelines and VA financing.

The full payment is PITI plus extras: Principal and Interest on the loan, property Taxes, homeowners Insurance, plus HOA dues where applicable and PMI when the down payment is under 20%. Lenders usually collect taxes and insurance monthly into an escrow account and pay the bills for you.

Many Tucson-area master-planned communities — Gladden Farms, Rancho Vistoso, Dove Mountain, Continental Ranch, and similar — carry HOA dues of roughly $30–$150 a month, while most older central-Tucson neighborhoods have no mandatory HOA at all. Always include dues in your payment math; the calculator has an HOA field for exactly that.

Typical minimums are 620 for conventional loans and 580 for FHA (some lenders go lower with compensating factors); VA has no hard floor at many lenders. Stronger scores earn meaningfully better rates — moving from 660 to 740+ can save well over $100 a month on a median-priced Tucson home. Paying card balances below 30% utilization is the fastest practical boost.

It depends on three numbers, and the honest answer is that it genuinely goes both ways. Waiting costs you when prices rise faster than you save — 20% of an appreciating price is a bigger target every year, so savers can run hard and lose ground, all while paying rent that builds no equity. Waiting wins when prices are flat or falling, because you buy the same home for less, with a smaller loan and no PMI, while your down payment earns interest. Tucson is a mild seller's market as of July 2026 with prices flat to slightly up year-over-year, so this is a real question here rather than a rhetorical one. The Cost of Waiting tab on this page runs your own numbers and will tell you when waiting is the better move.

On a $390,000 median-priced home, 20% is $78,000. Starting from $30,000 saved and adding $500 a month, you would reach it in roughly eight years and three months at 3% annual appreciation — but the target is moving, because 20% of the price grows as the price does. At higher appreciation rates the goalpost can outrun the saver entirely, and the answer becomes never. That is the trap this page's Cost of Waiting calculator is built to expose, and it is why most buyers are better served by comparing a smaller down payment today against the wait.

Month to month, renting is usually cheaper — a full mortgage payment on a median Tucson home runs around $2,825–$2,850 with taxes, insurance and PMI, against typical area rents well below that. Buying wins over time through amortization and appreciation, and loses if you sell within a few years or if prices fall. The honest comparison is net worth at a horizon: home equity plus whatever the un-spent cash grew to, measured against the same monthly budget on both paths. That is exactly what the Cost of Waiting tab computes, and it reports the result in whichever direction the numbers land.

No — it is an educational estimate. Actual rates, PMI pricing, taxes, and insurance vary by borrower, property, and lender. For a real number, get pre-approved with a licensed lender; Kyle is happy to connect you with reputable local Tucson lenders he closes with regularly.