Home and property
Mortgage affordability calculator
Estimate a home price from your gross income, monthly debts, down payment, and housing costs. The limit uses the common 28/36 debt-to-income guideline. It is a guideline lenders often cite, not a rule and not an approval.
What this means
- A common guideline keeps housing near 28.0% of gross monthly income (the 28% front-end screen) and housing plus other debts near 32.0% (the 36% back-end screen).
- That supports a price around $413,277.00, with $50,000.00 down and a loan of $363,277.00.
- This is not a pre-approval. Credit, reserves, and local rules can change the price a lender will allow.
- Your down payment is under 20% of the price. Many conventional loans then require PMI, which is not included here. Enter a PMI rate from your lender to include it.
What if
About this calculator
What this calculator does
It estimates the highest home price whose monthly housing cost still fits under a common 28/36 debt-to-income screen, given your income, other debts, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance, and HOA dues.
How it is calculated
Gross monthly income is annual income divided by 12. The housing cap is 28% of that income. The total-debt cap is 36% of that income minus your other monthly debts. The allowed housing payment is the lower of those two numbers. Lenders often treat 28/36 as a guideline, not a rule.
The housing payment has to cover principal and interest, property tax, insurance, and HOA. Tax depends on the price, so the price is solved from:
loan * k + price * tax / 12 + insurance / 12 + HOA = housing cap
k is the monthly loan factor, the same factor used by the loan payment calculator. Price equals the loan plus the down payment. The result is rounded down to a whole dollar so the payment stays inside the cap.
How to read the result
The large number is a price ceiling under this guideline, not a target you must spend. The breakdown shows where the monthly payment goes. If the price is zero, the guideline has no room left after debts and carrying costs.
Assumptions and limits
Income is gross, the rate is fixed, and taxes are a flat percent of price. Private mortgage insurance, closing costs, and credit overlays are not included. This is an educational estimate, not financial, tax, or lending advice.
Sources and method
Solves for the highest whole-dollar price whose housing payment fits the common 28/36 guideline. The guideline is a lender screen, not a legal cap. Optional PMI is added when the loan is over 80% of the price.
Questions
Is 28/36 a rule?
No. It is a common lender guideline for housing costs and total debt as shares of gross monthly income. Some programs allow different ratios.
Why does the price change when property tax changes?
Tax is part of the monthly housing payment, and the payment is capped. A higher tax rate leaves less room for principal and interest, so the price falls.
Does the down payment raise the price one for one?
Not always. A larger down payment also changes the taxable price. The calculator solves both together.
Are HOA dues included?
Yes. Monthly HOA dues count toward the housing cap, along with principal, interest, tax, and insurance.
Will I be approved for this price?
Not necessarily. This is an educational estimate. A lender looks at credit, reserves, the property, and its own rules.