How much house can you afford? This calculator uses the standard 28/36 debt-to-income rule to work backwards from your income, debts, and down payment to a recommended max home price.
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DTI ratio caps (advanced)
Housing ÷ income
(Housing + debts) ÷ income
Maximum home you can afford
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Max loan
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Monthly housing
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How the affordability calculator works
Lenders look at two debt-to-income (DTI) ratios when underwriting
a mortgage:
Back-end DTI = (housing + all other monthly debt
payments) ÷ gross monthly income. Industry rule: ≤ 36%.
The tighter of the two ratios sets your maximum monthly housing
cost. Working backwards from that cap — given your interest rate,
loan term, and down payment — gives the maximum home price you can
afford.
Why 28/36 still matters in 2026
Lenders have loosened standards in recent years; FHA loans approve
DTIs up to 50% in some cases. But just because you can
doesn\'t mean you should. The 28/36 rule is what financial planners
and credit counselors still recommend because it leaves room for:
Retirement savings (typically 10–15% of gross)
Emergency fund building
Life events: kids, illness, job loss, car replacement
The actual cost of homeownership beyond the mortgage: maintenance, repairs, furnishings, lawn care, etc. — typically 1–3% of home value per year.
Beyond DTI: what else affects affordability
Down payment — every $10,000 added directly
increases your max home price by $10,000, plus often reduces or
eliminates PMI.
Interest rate — a 1% rate increase reduces your
max home price by roughly 10%. Shop lenders aggressively.
Property tax — varies 8x across states. A New
Jersey buyer with 2.47% effective rate can afford a much smaller
home than a Hawaii buyer with 0.27% on the same income.
Existing debt — every $100 of monthly debt payment
reduces your back-end DTI capacity by $100. Paying off a car loan
before applying for a mortgage can meaningfully increase your
affordability.
Related tools
Mortgage Calculator — once you have a price, run the full payment breakdown.
The 28/36 rule is the lending industry's most common affordability guideline. Your front-end DTI (housing cost ÷ gross income) should be at most 28%; your back-end DTI (housing + all monthly debts ÷ gross income) should be at most 36%. Lenders may approve up to 43–50% back-end DTI in some cases, but 36% is the comfort zone.
How does the calculator decide the max home price?
It computes the maximum monthly housing payment your DTI caps allow (using whichever constraint is tighter), then solves backward: what home price produces a total monthly payment (P&I + property tax + insurance + PMI) equal to that limit, given your interest rate, term, and down payment?
Why is the result different from what a lender pre-approved me for?
Lenders often approve you for more than the 28/36 rule suggests, especially if you have strong credit and assets. This calculator gives you the responsible-budgeting answer, not the maximum approval. A bigger pre-approval doesn't mean you should spend it all — leave room for life, emergencies, and other goals.
Should I include my spouse's income?
Yes — if you're applying for a joint mortgage, include both incomes in the gross income field. If only one spouse will be on the loan (often a choice when one spouse has stronger credit), only enter that person's income.
What if I have a high down payment?
A larger down payment increases your max home price two ways: (1) it directly reduces the loan amount you need to qualify for, and (2) it reduces or eliminates PMI, freeing up budget. A 20% down payment is the typical threshold for avoiding PMI on conventional loans.
How accurate is this affordability estimate?
It uses standard DTI ratios and reasonable defaults for property tax (1.2%) and insurance (0.35%). For higher accuracy, layer on top: state-specific property tax (use our Property Tax Calculator), HOA fees, and your actual insurance quote. The biggest unknowns are usually property tax and HOA.
What's the difference between affordability and pre-approval?
Affordability is a household-budget calculation: what fits comfortably in your life. Pre-approval is a lender's formal statement of how much they'll lend you based on a hard credit pull and income verification. They're often different by 10–25%. Get pre-approved before house hunting — but use this calculator to set your own ceiling.