Free Mortgage Affordability Calculator
Estimate how much house you may be able to afford. Adjust the assumptions to compare a lender-oriented maximum with a more comfortable monthly budget.
Calculate how much house you can afford based on income, monthly debts, down payment, interest rate, and target DTI ratio. Compare comfortable and maximum loan scenarios side by side. All calculations run privately in your browser. Open your estimate directly in our mortgage calculator to explore detailed schedules.
Affordability Calculator Inputs
Choose a calculation path
Income
Combined pre-tax income for all borrowers
Enter the combined pre-tax annual income of all borrowers. The calculator converts it to gross monthly income; this is not take-home pay.
Monthly Debts
Recurring debt payments used for back-end DTI
Current housing payment is not counted here because it will be replaced by your proposed new housing payment. Do not double-count it.
Purchase Assumptions
Set your down payment, rate, and loan term
This calculator is for conventional/general mortgage planning. FHA and VA loans use different insurance and fee rules.
Affordability Preference
Choose a planning style
$430,216
Calculated at your 31% target total DTI
Monthly Payment & Income Breakdown
Down Payment
$86,043
20.0% of price
Principal & Interest
$2,063.49
Property Taxes
$394.36
Home Insurance
$125.48
PMI
$0
No PMI (20%+ down)
HOA
$0.00
Max Payment Cap
$2,583.33
31% DTI limit
Remaining Income
$5,750.00
After housing + debts
This estimate represents the upper home price threshold for a 31% total DTI target. For long-term financial flexibility, consider our conservative or balanced planning scenarios below.
Monthly recurring debt included: $0.00 · Gross monthly income: $8,333.33
Comfortable vs. Maximum
The highest possible payment is not always the best financial choice.
| Scenario | Target DTI | Home price | Monthly payment | Total DTI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
C Comfortable A conservative housing budget with room for savings and surprises. | 28% | $388,582 | $2,333.33 | 28.0% |
Balanced A middle-ground budget that still leaves meaningful financial flexibility. | 31% | $430,216 | $2,583.33 | 31.0% |
M Maximum planning A lender-style ceiling. Do not plan on borrowing the maximum unless you are sure. | 36% | $499,606 | $3,000.00 | 36.0% |
Each row solves for the home price whose total monthly payment lands on that target total DTI, given $8,333.33 gross monthly income and $0.00 of recurring monthly debt. All three are planning thresholds, not lender approval rules.
Rate & Down-Payment Sensitivity
Estimated affordable home price at different rates and down payments
| Down payment | 5.00% | 6.00% · now | 7.00% |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10% down | $402,719 | $370,143 | $341,212 |
| 20% down | $469,449 | $430,216 | $395,564 |
For this comparison, the down payment is modeled as a percentage of the purchase price while holding your income, debts, taxes, insurance, PMI, HOA, and target DTI constant. Each cell solves for the home price that fits your budget at that rate and down payment. A full percentage point lower rate can add tens of thousands of dollars to the home you can afford.
Affordability gauge
Where the estimated maximum payment lands relative to your target
Comfortable
Your housing costs stay at or below 28% of gross income, leaving clear room for savings, retirement, and unexpected expenses.
Monthly Payment Breakdown
What makes up the estimated $2,583.33
Debt-to-income analysis
Housing payment ÷ gross monthly income
(Housing payment + recurring debt) ÷ gross monthly income
Open the detailed payment calculator
Take this estimate into our full mortgage calculator, prefilled with the affordable home price, down payment, rate, and term. There you can fine-tune the payment and view the complete amortization schedule.
How the Mortgage Affordability Calculator Works
Understand how income, debt, down payment, and DTI combine to set your affordable home price.
1How Much House Can I Afford?
Your affordable home price depends on how much of your gross monthly income you are willing to commit to a housing payment. The main variables are your gross income, recurring monthly debt, down payment, interest rate, loan term, property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI, HOA dues, and target debt-to-income ratio.
The calculator finds the home price whose total monthly payment fits your target DTI. Because taxes, insurance, and PMI all depend on the purchase price, it solves for the price iteratively rather than with a single formula. Lower your debts, raise your income, increase your down payment, or secure a lower rate, and the affordable home price rises in real time.
What Is the 28/36 Rule?
The 28/36 rule is a common planning framework, not a universal approval standard. It suggests that no more than 28% of gross monthly income should go to your housing payment (front-end DTI), and no more than 36% should go to your housing payment plus all other recurring debt (back-end DTI).
Many lenders approve loans above these levels depending on credit, assets, and compensating factors. This calculator treats 28%, 31%, and 36% as adjustable planning thresholds in the affordability preference section. Select the level that matches your target budget.
How Does DTI Affect Affordability?
Debt-to-income ratio compares your monthly debt obligations to your income. Your front-end DTI is your proposed housing payment divided by gross monthly income. Your back-end DTI adds your recurring monthly debt. The higher your DTI, the smaller the housing payment lenders will accept.
Because the back-end ratio includes debt, car loans, student loans, and credit cards reduce the home price you can afford. Paying down existing debt increases your home purchasing budget directly.
What Monthly Payment Can I Afford?
The maximum monthly housing payment is gross monthly income multiplied by your target total DTI, minus recurring monthly debt. That limit determines the largest home price whose total payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA) stays within budget.
The maximum payment a lender allows is not always comfortable for daily spending. The comparison table in the results separates a comfortable budget (around 28% DTI), a balanced budget (31%), and a maximum planning estimate (36%).
How This Calculator Estimates Your Home Price
Monthly principal and interest uses standard loan amortization formulas. Property tax and insurance are estimated from your home price at your specified rates. PMI applies only when your down payment is under 20%.
Since taxes, insurance, and PMI depend on the home price, the calculator calculates the maximum affordable price by matching payments against your target DTI. All calculations run locally in your browser.
Related Tools
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Amortization Schedule
View payment breakdowns between principal and interest over the loan term.
Mortgage Payment Scenarios
Compare sample calculations by home price, term, down payment, and interest rate.
PMI Removal Timeline
Calculate when your loan balance reaches 80% LTV to cancel mortgage insurance.
DSCR & Rental Cash Flow
Evaluate debt service coverage and cash flow for investment properties.
Recast Calculator
Calculate monthly savings from applying a lump sum principal payment.
Need to calculate required income for a target price?
Switch the calculator mode to “Check a specific home,” enter your purchase price, and adjust income values to determine the required qualifying income.
Mortgage Affordability FAQs
Answers to the questions buyers ask most about how much house they can afford.
1How much house can I afford based on my income?
Start with your gross monthly income, subtract your recurring monthly debt, and apply a target debt-to-income ratio to find your maximum proposed housing payment. The calculator then searches for the home price whose total monthly payment, including taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA, fits that budget. Most lenders target a back-end DTI around 36%, but a more comfortable budget is usually lower.
2What income is used in a mortgage affordability calculation?
Lenders generally use stable, documentable gross income: base salary, co-borrower income, bonuses, commissions, or other qualifying recurring income. Enter your total combined pre-tax annual income, which the calculator divides by 12 to get your gross monthly income.
3Does this calculator use gross income or take-home pay?
It uses gross income before taxes and deductions, divided by 12 to get gross monthly income. This matches standard lender debt-to-income benchmarks. Because taxes, retirement, and health insurance reduce take-home pay, your actual cash flow budget may differ.
4What is the difference between comfortable affordability and maximum affordability?
Comfortable affordability uses a lower target DTI (such as 28%) to leave room for savings and lifestyle expenses. Maximum affordability uses a higher benchmark (such as 36%) to represent the upper boundary a lender might evaluate.
5How does debt-to-income ratio affect how much I can borrow?
Debt-to-income (DTI) ratio compares your proposed housing payment plus other recurring debts to your gross monthly income. Lowering your monthly debts or raising income reduces your DTI and increases your affordable home price.
6Does the calculator include property taxes and homeowners insurance?
Yes. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, PMI, HOA dues, and other monthly housing costs count toward your total monthly housing payment.
7How does a down payment change my affordable home price?
A larger down payment reduces your loan amount, lowering monthly principal and interest. Reaching a 20% down payment typically removes private mortgage insurance (PMI) on conventional loans.
8How does PMI affect affordability?
When your down payment is under 20%, conventional loans typically require private mortgage insurance (PMI), which adds a monthly cost. That extra expense counts toward your housing payment and reduces your maximum affordable home price.
9Can I use this calculator for a 15-year mortgage?
Yes. Select the 15-year term option to see how shorter loan amortization increases monthly payments and adjusts your affordable purchase price. You can also compare 20-year, 25-year, and 30-year terms.
10Is this calculator the same as mortgage preapproval?
No. This is an educational estimation tool. Formal preapproval requires a lender to verify your credit, assets, employment, and income documents.
Your privacy
This calculator runs entirely in your browser. Income and debt figures are never sent to a server.
The share link in the header contains your income and monthly debt figures in the URL so your exact scenario can be bookmarked or shared. Only share that link with people you trust, and treat it like any other personal financial data. You can always reset the calculator to clear the values.
Assumptions & Disclaimer
Read this before treating the numbers as a decision.
These results are estimates for planning, not loan offers or guarantees. Property tax and insurance rates begin as rough national defaults (1.1% and 0.35% of home value per year, 0.5% PMI on the loan) and should be replaced with your county's tax bill and an actual insurance quote. Interest rates change daily and depend on your credit, loan type, and lender.
Your actual qualification depends on lender underwriting, including your credit score, assets, employment history, and the specific loan program's rules. A lender may approve more or less than this estimate. DTI thresholds here are planning assumptions, not approval standards.
- Runs in your browser. All math executes locally; no data is sent to a server.
- Privacy. Income and debt figures never leave your device. Shared URLs contain those figures, so share only with people you trust.
- Not preapproval. Speak with a licensed lender or loan officer for an official preapproval before making an offer.