Home affordability calculator
How much house can you afford? Enter your income, debts, down payment and rate — we apply the standard 28%/36% guidelines and show the home price and loan they imply. No sign-up, no email, attached to no lender.
Rate prefilled with today’s ~30-yr average (6.684%) from our live board — edit freely.
How much house can I afford?
Affordability comes down to two lender guidelines. The front-end ratio says your housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, plus HOA/PMI) should stay near 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio says all your monthly debt — housing plus car, card and loan payments — should stay near 36%. We take the smaller of the two payment caps, subtract taxes, insurance and HOA to get the principal-and-interest you can support, invert the mortgage formula at your rate and term to get the loan, and add your down payment to reach a home price.
Why it is a starting point, not a promise
Real approval depends on your credit score, cash reserves, employment, and the specific loan program — many allow back-end ratios well above 36%. Treat this as the conservative edge of your range, then run the exact payment on a target price.