How Much House Can I Afford?

Enter your income, monthly debts, and down payment to find your maximum comfortable home price. Uses the standard lender 28/36 DTI rule.

1 Income & Debts

Annual Household Income (gross)

Monthly Debt Payments (car, student loans, etc.)

2 Loan Details

Down Payment

Interest Rate (current avg ~6.9%)

Loan Term

3 Est. Housing Costs (optional)

Annual Property Tax

Annual Home Insurance

4 Check a Specific Price (optional)

Enter a target home price to see its DTI ratio and affordability verdict.

Enter your income to see results

Fill in annual income and down payment above to calculate your maximum affordable home price.

Maximum Affordable Home Price

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Based on 28/36 DTI rule — most comfortable budget

Max Monthly Payment

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Principal + interest + escrow

Max Loan Amount

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After your down payment

Debt-to-Income Analysis

Front-End DTI (housing ÷ income) —

0% 28% — ideal 36%+

Back-End DTI (all debts ÷ income) —

0% 36% — ideal 50%+

Monthly Income

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Gross (before tax)

28% of Income

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Front-end limit

36% of Income

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Back-end limit

Binding Constraint

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What limits your budget

The 28/36 Rule Explained

US mortgage lenders use the 28/36 rule as their primary affordability threshold. It sets two limits on how much of your income can go toward debt:

28
Front-End DTI: Your total housing payment — principal, interest, property taxes, and homeowners insurance (PITI) — should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income.
36
Back-End DTI: All of your monthly debt payments combined — housing plus car loans, student loans, credit cards — should not exceed 36% of your gross monthly income.

FHA loans allow up to 31% front-end and 43% back-end DTI. Some conventional programs allow up to 50% back-end with strong credit. But staying within 28/36 gives you financial breathing room.

What Affects How Much You Can Borrow?

Income: Higher gross income directly increases your maximum payment limit
Existing debts: Every $100/mo in car or student loans reduces your max mortgage by ~$15,000–$20,000
Down payment: Larger down payment = smaller loan needed = lower monthly payment
Interest rate: Each 1% rate increase reduces max loan by roughly 10%
Property taxes: High-tax states (TX, IL, NJ) significantly reduce the mortgage payment you can afford

By Income Level