Home Affordability Calculator
Find out how much house you can afford based on your income, debts, down payment, and target debt-to-income ratio.
About this calculator
This calculator estimates the maximum home price you can afford by working backward from your income and debts. It applies your chosen debt-to-income (DTI) ratio to your gross monthly income to find the maximum total monthly debt payment, subtracts your existing debt obligations, and uses the remaining amount as the maximum mortgage payment. It then uses a present-value formula to convert that payment into a maximum loan amount, and adds your down payment to get the purchase price. The budget range table shows how the result shifts across conservative (28%), standard (36%), and aggressive (43%) DTI targets.
Field explanations
- Gross monthly income
- Your total household income before taxes and deductions. For two-income households, combine both salaries.
- Down payment
- The cash amount you plan to put toward the purchase. A larger down payment reduces your required loan and monthly payment, raising the purchase price you can afford.
- Monthly debt obligations
- The total of your existing recurring monthly debt payments — car loans, student loans, credit card minimums, and any other installment debt. Do not include rent, utilities, or groceries.
- Interest rate
- The annual mortgage interest rate you expect to qualify for. Check current rates with your lender — this has a large impact on the result.
- Loan term
- A 30-year term has lower monthly payments but more total interest. A 15-year term has higher payments but lower total cost and a higher loan amount for the same payment.
- Target DTI ratio
- The percentage of gross monthly income that can go toward all debt payments combined. Conservative (28%) is what traditional lenders prefer; standard (36%) is a common guideline; aggressive (43%) is the FHA maximum. Use Custom to enter any value.