Are you talking about monthly payment or lump sum? When the lump sum doubles yet the monthly payment is the same, has the cost really changed? To me, no. I was never going to buy lump sum, so I only care about monthly payment.
Your payments go towards both interest and principal in a proportion that varies over the lifetime of the loan, such that your time frame is set by the terms of the loan. If you get a 30-year fixed rate mortgage, you pay it back in 30 years, regardless of the loan amount or interest rate. Look up "amortization table" if you're curious.
You mean the repayment amount? I'm not sure what you're asking.
Of the lump sum price (principal), interest rate, loan term (time), and monthly payment, you can only change three of the four, for a fixed rate loan. The fourth is defined by the combination of the others.
After all the adjustable rate issues from the last housing crisis, I believe most mortgages since them have been fixed rate. I don't care what interest rates do, my mortgage rate is never going up.
This touches on another point. For home owners like myself, inflation is a good thing as it makes my highest monthly expense relatively cheaper.
In the US 30 year fixed rate mortgages are common (standard?). Rates have also bumped around record low territory for years.
I know people who refied into 15 year fixed, but the rates have typically been so close I didn't see the point. Just pay more each month on your own and avoid the costs of the refi.
Rates might have little to do with whether refinancing from 30-year to 15-year makes sense. The most important factor is how long you plan on living in the house compared to the difference in interest paid between the two amortization schedules during that time. The longer you stay in the house, the larger the difference to where paying refinancing fees is virtually free.
On the typical fixed rate loan, amortization schedules are a function of rate, time, and payment. If someone wants to accelerate the schedule, they just need to pay more principal each month.
So, if someone already has a 30 year and the 15 year rate isn't much different, refing into a 15 isn't necessary. Just start paying monthly like a 15 and it will get close enough.
Also, if I already had a high rate loan and was refing where the 15/30 rates are very close, I would go 30. That way I can pay it like a 15, but have the flexibility to pay less if, for example, I lost my job.
Finally, this is why it's common to make 1 extra payment each year as it will shave ~4 years off the end of the loan.
Presumably, owing money for 60 years instead of 30 years will cost you much more in the long run. And more baked in interest early in the loan means less recovered when you sell.
You forgot interest rates changing, which is the primary cause of the recent home price changes. Remember, the mortgage market has a set of standard terms, like a 30-year-fixed.
Are you talking about monthly payment or lump sum? When the lump sum doubles yet the monthly payment is the same, has the cost really changed? To me, no. I was never going to buy lump sum, so I only care about monthly payment.