On a median Studio City home of about $1.75 million with 20% down, your monthly mortgage payment lands somewhere around $10,300 once taxes and insurance are included.
The loan itself is only about 85% of that. Here's the whole picture.
The four parts
Lenders call it PITI — principal, interest, taxes, insurance.
Purchase price $1,750,000
Down payment (20%) $ 350,000
Loan amount $1,400,000
Principal & interest (~6.5%, 30 yr) $ 8,849
Property tax (~1.15% of price ÷ 12) $ 1,677
Homeowners insurance $ 275
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Monthly payment $ 10,801
At 10% down the loan is larger and you'd add mortgage insurance — roughly $400–$700 a month more, until you reach 20% equity.
Run your own scenario in the mortgage payment calculator.
What people get wrong
Property tax is based on what YOU pay. Under Prop 13, your assessed value resets to your purchase price. If the current owner bought in 1994, their tax bill is a fraction of what yours will be. Never budget from the listing's current tax figure — it's the single most common budgeting error I see, and it's usually wrong by more than $1,000 a month.
Your rate will be roughly 1.1% to 1.25% of purchase price annually once local assessments are added.
Insurance is not a rounding error any more. Studio City sits against the hills, and wildfire risk has pushed premiums up sharply while some carriers have stopped writing in parts of the area. A quote from three years ago is not useful. Get a real quote for the specific address before you remove your contingencies.
HOA dues are separate and don't count as PITI — but your lender absolutely counts them in your debt-to-income ratio. A $600 HOA reduces what you can borrow by roughly $90,000.
What actually changes the payment
| Change | Effect on monthly |
|---|---|
| Rate down 1% | About −$900 |
| 10% more down | About −$1,100 (plus no PMI) |
| 15-year instead of 30 | About +$3,300, far less interest overall |
| Buying 1 point (~$14,000) | About −$220, breaks even in ~5 years |
Rate matters more than price at this level. A one-point rate move is worth more than a $150,000 price reduction.
Two things to do before you shop
Get a real pre-approval. Not pre-qualification — an actual document review. It tells you your real number, and in a multiple-offer situation it's the difference between being considered and not.
Ask for the full payment, not the loan payment. Lenders quote principal and interest. Some buyers don't discover the tax and insurance portion until closing. Ask directly: "What is my total monthly payment including taxes, insurance and any mortgage insurance?"
Renting versus buying
At roughly $10,800 a month, buying in Studio City costs considerably more per month than renting a comparable home. That doesn't automatically make it worse — you're building equity, your principal payment is forced savings, and the mortgage interest deduction may apply.
But the break-even usually sits around five to seven years once you count closing costs on the way in and selling costs on the way out. If you might move in three years, renting is often genuinely the better financial decision, whatever anyone tells you about throwing money away.
Our rent vs buy calculator does that math with real Studio City numbers.
The short version
Budget the full PITI, not the loan payment. Base your tax estimate on your purchase price, not the seller's bill. Get an insurance quote early. And if your timeline is under five years, run the rent-versus-buy math honestly before you commit.
Written by Emily Rose, a licensed California REALTOR® serving Studio City and the San Fernando Valley. Figures are estimates for general guidance, not a lending offer. Median price per the current local guide; rates shown are illustrative and change daily. Your actual payment depends on your lender, credit and the specific property.