House Affordability Calculator
Income & Cash
Car loans, student loans, credit cards
Loan Assumptions
Leave 0 if none
Home buying budget
Maximum Affordable Home Price
$425,465
Comfortable Range
Score
100/100
Monthly Cost
$2,800
Loan Amount
$365,465
P&I Payment
$2,310
Front-End DTI
28.0%
Back-End DTI
33.0%
Monthly Income Allocation
Smart Insights
Your estimated total monthly housing cost is $2,800, including principal, interest, taxes, insurance.
Back-end DTI is 33.0%. Keep it near or below 36% for a cleaner lender profile.
You would have about $6,700 left each month after housing and listed debts.
Our house affordability calculator estimates how much home you can afford in 2025 based on your income, debts, down payment, and the costs lenders factor in — property tax, insurance, and HOA. It applies both the 28% front-end and 36% back-end DTI rules and shows you the conservative limit, not the highest number a lender might approve.
How the 28/36 DTI Rule Works
Lenders use two debt-to-income ratios. The front-end ratio caps your total housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — often called PITI) at 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio caps all monthly debt payments, including housing, at 36%. Your affordable home price is determined by whichever limit is lower — usually the back-end DTI if you're carrying existing debts.
What's Included in the Monthly Cost Estimate
The calculator estimates four costs that make up your real monthly housing expense: the principal and interest payment based on your loan amount and rate, monthly property tax (your entered annual rate divided by 12), monthly homeowner's insurance, and any HOA dues. These four numbers together, not just the mortgage payment, are what lenders count against your income.
Down Payment's Effect on Affordability
A larger down payment reduces your loan principal, which lowers your monthly P&I payment. Since the payment is a fixed percentage of the loan, every extra dollar of down payment buys roughly 4–6 dollars of additional home price within the same monthly budget. The calculator solves this algebraically so you can see exactly how your down payment changes your ceiling.
Limits of This Calculator
This estimate doesn't account for PMI (required when putting down less than 20%), your credit score's effect on the actual rate you'd qualify for, or specific lender overlays that may tighten or loosen the DTI limits. For a paycheck-level view of what your mortgage would do to your take-home pay, see our paycheck calculator.