Home Affordability Calculator
How much house can you afford? Pick a loan program, enter your income, monthly debts, down payment, and rate, and this solves your maximum price with the full payment — principal, interest, property tax, insurance, and PMI when you put under 20% down. You get three honest price bands (comfortable, stretch, aggressive), a DTI meter, and a budget mode that works backward from a monthly number instead. All in your browser.
Comfortable
28 / 36
$0
—
Stretch
36 / 43
$0
—
Aggressive
43 / 50
$0
—
Full PITI estimate: principal & interest plus property tax, insurance, and PMI when the down payment is under 20% (edit the assumption percentages above). Lenders also weigh credit score, reserves, and the specific property — treat this as a well-grounded ballpark, not a pre-approval.
Three bands, because "max" isn't one number
Ask three lenders what you can afford and you'll get three answers, because the answer is mostly a choice of debt-to-income ratio. So the calculator shows the spread: Comfortable at your loan program's standard ratios, Stretch at 36/43, and Aggressive at 43/50. The aggressive number is usually 20–40% higher than the comfortable one — same income, same debts, just a looser rule. Knowing where a seller's-agent "you can totally afford this" number sits on that scale is half the defense against it. A payment at your absolute max leaves little room for retirement saving, emergencies, or the genuinely fun parts of life; plenty of financially comfortable people buy at 60–80% of their max on purpose.
The payment here is full PITI, not just P&I
Most affordability calculators convert your DTI budget straight into a loan and quietly ignore property tax, insurance, and PMI — which inflates the answer by 20–30%. This one folds them into the algebra: tax and insurance scale with the price, PMI kicks in automatically when the down payment is under 20% of the solved price, and the math re-solves accordingly. The defaults (1.1%/yr tax, 0.35%/yr insurance, 0.8%/yr PMI) are editable under "Assumptions" — set your county's real tax rate and the answer moves. Then pressure-test a specific home with the mortgage calculator.
Related
- Personal finance hub — all our money calculators and guides
- Mortgage calculator — full PITI payment + payoff
- Savings goal calculator — build the down payment
- Debt payoff calculator — lower your DTI before you buy
FAQ
Is anything I enter sent to a server?
No. The calculator runs entirely in your browser — open DevTools → Network and confirm. Your income and finances never leave the tab.
What is the 28/36 rule, and how do FHA and VA differ?
They're debt-to-income (DTI) limits. The front-end ratio caps your housing payment as a share of gross monthly income; the back-end ratio caps housing plus all other debt payments. Conventional underwriting traditionally uses 28/36, FHA allows 31/43, and VA looks mainly at a 41% back-end ratio with no fixed front-end cap. Pick your loan program and the calculator applies the right pair — or choose Custom and set your own. Whichever limit you hit first caps what you can borrow, and the "Limited by" cell shows which one is binding for you.
What do Comfortable, Stretch, and Aggressive mean?
Three prices for the same finances at increasingly loose DTI ratios. Comfortable uses your loan program's standard limits — the number a cautious underwriter would like. Stretch uses 36/43, the upper end of mainstream approval. Aggressive uses 43/50 — some lenders will approve it, but the payment will dominate your budget and leave little slack for savings or surprises. The bands aren't advice to spend more; they show how much of the "how much house" answer is just a choice of ratio.
Why is the estimate higher than what I feel comfortable with?
Because even the "Comfortable" band is a lending guideline, not a happiness guideline. DTI rules are about default risk to the bank, not your quality of life. Many people deliberately buy well under their max so there's room for savings, travel, and surprises. Treat the bands as a map of the ceiling, then decide how far below it you want to live.
Does this include property tax, insurance, and PMI?
Yes — the price is solved with all of them in the payment: property tax (default 1.1% of the price per year), homeowners insurance (0.35%/yr), and PMI (0.8% of the loan per year) added automatically whenever your down payment lands under 20%. That's why the result is lower — and more honest — than P&I-only calculators. Open "Assumptions" to match your local tax rate or a lender's PMI quote; the defaults are reasonable US-wide averages.
How much should my down payment be?
20% is the classic target because it avoids PMI, but many loans allow far less (3–5% conventional, 3.5% FHA, 0% VA/USDA for those who qualify). A bigger down payment lowers your loan, your payment, and your total interest — and increases the price this calculator says you can afford, since the price is the supported loan plus your down payment.