Home Affordability Calculator
Work backwards from your income, debts, and down payment to the maximum home price a lender will approve.
Your details
Car loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments
Loan terms
Conventional loans typically cap total DTI at 43-50%
Ownership costs
This calculator runs entirely on your device. Nothing you enter is uploaded, stored, or sold. How this works
Maximum home price
$661,227
$90,000 down (13.6%) on a $571,227 loan
Includes your inputs, the full breakdown, and every row of the table.
Monthly housing payment
$4,366.67
37.4% of gross income
Comfortable target
$528,981
80% of the maximum — leaves room to save and absorb surprises
Total monthly debt
$5,016.67
43.0% DTI limit
Loan amount
$571,227
- Principal & interest
- $3,610.54
- Property tax
- $606.12
- Home insurance
- $150.00
- Total housing payment
- $4,366.67
What this means
- This payment is 37.4% of gross income, above the classic 28% front-end guideline. Lenders may still approve it, but the budget will be tight.
- Approval is not the same as affordability. Lenders ignore childcare, retirement contributions, and commuting costs, all of which come out of the same paycheck.
How the home affordability calculation works
Lenders answer 'how much house can I afford' with two ratios. The front-end ratio caps your housing payment at roughly 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio caps all recurring debt — housing plus cars, students loans, and credit card minimums — at about 43% for a qualified mortgage, sometimes up to 50% with strong compensating factors.
Because property tax scales with the purchase price, the maximum price cannot be found by simply dividing your budget by a payment factor. This calculator solves for the price where the loan payment plus the tax on that same price exactly consumes the available budget.
Frequently asked questions
Does a larger down payment increase how much house I can afford?
Yes, roughly dollar for dollar plus a bit more, since a bigger down payment can also remove PMI and improve your rate. It does not change your monthly budget, though — that is set by income and debts.
How do I qualify for more?
Pay off an installment loan that is close to finished, increase documented income, extend the term, or add a co-borrower. Lowering your interest rate through points also helps, though you pay for it up front.
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Disclaimer. This calculator is provided for general information and educational purposes only and does not constitute financial, tax, legal, medical, or engineering advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and the assumptions described above. Confirm any figure with a qualified professional before acting on it.