Wondering how much house you can afford? This calculator uses industry-standard DTI rules (28/36) to estimate a comfortable budget based on your income, debts, down payment, interest rate, and typical homeownership costs (taxes, insurance, HOA, PMI).

Adjust the sliders/inputs to see your maximum home price, target monthly payment, and a detailed PITI + PMI breakdown so you can shop with confidence.

How We Estimate “How Much House You Can Afford”

Most lenders evaluate affordability using the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio. A common benchmark is the 28/36 rule: keep housing costs ≤ 28% of your gross monthly income, and keep total debts ≤ 36% of your gross monthly income.

• Front-end DTI (28%): housing costs only (P&I + taxes + insurance + PMI + HOA).
• Back-end DTI (36%): housing costs + all other monthly debts (credit cards, auto, student loans, etc.).

We compute a safe housing budget by taking the lower of: (28% × income) and (36% × income − other debts). Then we back into the maximum loan amount your budget can support at your chosen rate/term, and add your down payment to estimate a maximum home price.

Tips To Improve Affordability

• Increase down payment to reduce PMI and monthly P&I.
• Pay down high-interest debts before applying for a mortgage.
• Shop lenders—small rate changes can raise your budget noticeably.
• Consider a shorter term for faster equity (payments will be higher).

Disclaimer: This tool is for education only and does not constitute financial or lending advice. Actual approval criteria vary by lender.