Find out how much house you can afford. Enter income, debts, down payment, and rate to get your max home price, monthly PITI, and DTI by loan type.
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Before you start house hunting, the most important number to know is your budget. How much house you can afford depends on far more than your salary — lenders look at your gross income, existing monthly debts, down payment, and the interest rate, then apply debt-to-income (DTI) limits like the 28/36 rule. This calculator works backward from your income to the maximum home price you can afford, including the full monthly payment (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA), and compares how much more you could borrow with an FHA or VA loan.
A house affordability calculator estimates the maximum home price you can comfortably buy based on your income, debts, down payment, and loan terms. It is the reverse of a mortgage calculator: instead of starting with a home price and computing the payment, it starts with your finances and finds the highest price that keeps you within standard DTI limits. It applies a front-end ratio (housing costs as a share of income) and a back-end ratio (all debt as a share of income), subtracts property tax, insurance, HOA, and any PMI from your housing budget, then converts the remaining principal-and-interest budget into a maximum loan and home price.
Core Formula
Find out what price home a $75,000, $100,000, or $150,000 income supports before you contact a lender or agent.
See how a low 3.5% down FHA loan with its 31/43 limits affects your maximum price and monthly payment, including MIP.
Estimate how much house you can afford with no down payment under the VA 41% guideline.
See how car payments, student loans, and credit cards reduce your back-end budget — and how much paying them down would unlock.
Test 3%, 10%, and 20% down to see the price difference and exactly when PMI disappears.
Walk into a lender meeting with a realistic price and payment range already in mind.
Making an offer with a clear maximum keeps you focused on homes you can actually finance and strengthens your negotiating position.
Affordability is capped by either your front-end (housing) or back-end (total debt) ratio. The calculator shows exactly which one binds — so you know whether paying down debt would help.
Each loan type uses different DTI limits (28/36, 31/43, and 41). See side by side how much more house an FHA or VA loan could let you buy.
Many tools only estimate principal and interest. This one adds property taxes, homeowners insurance, HOA dues, and PMI so your budget reflects the real PITI you will pay.
See how a bigger down payment (and crossing 20% to drop PMI) or paying off a car loan changes the home price you qualify for.
On a $75,000 income (about $6,250 per month), the 28/36 rule caps your housing payment near $1,750 per month. With a 10% down payment at a ~6.5% rate and minimal other debt, that supports a home priced around $230,000–$260,000. A larger down payment or an FHA loan (which allows a higher 31% front-end ratio) can push this higher, while existing car or student-loan payments lower it.
A $100,000 income (about $8,333 per month) supports a housing payment near $2,333 under the 28% front-end rule. With 10–20% down at current rates, that translates to roughly $310,000–$370,000 in home price, assuming limited other debt. FHA and VA loans allow higher DTI ratios and can increase that figure.
The 28/36 rule is the most common affordability guideline for conventional loans. It says your monthly housing payment (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance) should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income — the front-end ratio — and your total monthly debt, housing plus car loans, student loans, and credit cards, should not exceed 36% — the back-end ratio. Whichever limit is reached first caps how much you can borrow.
For a $400,000 home with 20% down ($80,000) at a ~6.5% rate, the monthly payment including taxes and insurance is roughly $2,550. To keep that within the 28% front-end limit, you would need about $109,000 per year in gross income — and somewhat more if you carry other monthly debts. A smaller down payment raises the income needed because of a larger loan and PMI.
Yes, significantly. A larger down payment means a smaller loan for the same monthly budget, so your maximum home price rises. Reaching 20% down on a conventional loan also eliminates PMI, freeing part of your monthly payment for principal and interest — which increases affordability further.
Often, yes. FHA loans allow DTI ratios up to 31/43 (versus 28/36 for conventional), and VA loans use a 41% guideline, so both can qualify you for a higher price — especially helpful with a low down payment. The trade-off is mortgage insurance: FHA loans carry MIP, and VA loans have a one-time funding fee, though VA requires no down payment.
PITI stands for Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance — the four core parts of a mortgage payment. This calculator also adds PMI (private mortgage insurance, required on conventional loans with less than 20% down) and any monthly HOA dues, so the total reflects everything you will actually pay each month.
Existing monthly debts directly reduce your back-end budget. Because the back-end ratio caps total debt — housing plus everything else — at 36% of income for conventional loans, every $100 of car or student-loan payment is $100 less you can put toward a mortgage. If your debts are high enough, the back-end ratio, not your income, becomes the limiting factor.