ResourcesMortgage calculatorAffordability calculator
Home affordability calculator: how much house can you afford?
Choose your monthly housing budget and see the home price it could carry, with income, debts and total DTI together in one calculator. Taxes, insurance, dues and mortgage insurance are counted. The answer is a planning figure you control, not a lender's maximum; pre-approval is where the real one comes from.
Your numbers
Illustrative example. Edit any figure.Home price you could carry
$449,179
A $389,179 loan plus your $60,000 down payment (13.4% of the price).
- Principal and interest$2,460
- Property tax1.1% of the price each year$412
- Home insurance$150
- Mortgage insurance13.4% down is under 20%$178
- Loan amount$389,179
- Down payment13.4%Mortgage insurance applies
- Budget used$3,200.00of $3,200.00
Mortgage insurance is costing you price. With 13.4% down, part of the budget pays a premium instead of principal. This estimates the initial payment, not a PMI cancellation date. Covered borrower-paid PMI generally ends at scheduled 78% of original value or after the original term's midpoint, with current payments; cancellation may be requested at 80% subject to conditions. See the conventional loan guide for the distinctions.
When a price is available, its modeled payment fits within the budget, mortgage insurance included. A lender's maximum can differ; the pre-approval guide explains what they weigh.
What moves the price
One change at a time, everything else as entered.
| If you had | Price you could carry | Change |
|---|---|---|
| $100 more each month | $462,174 | +$12,994 |
| $10,000 more down | $457,988 | +$8,809 |
| A rate 0.5% lower | $466,349 | +$17,170 |
| A rate 0.5% higher | $433,068 | −$16,111 |
How to use this calculator
Enter annual gross income and the monthly payments on your other debts, then choose what you want to spend on housing. Type a monthly housing budget or move the slider. The home-price estimate, payment breakdown and estimated total debt-to-income ratio (DTI) update together. You can explore through 50% total DTI; there is no separate 28% housing cap. Changing income or debts does not silently change your chosen budget. If it moves above the scenario limit, review the warning and adjust the budget or correct those inputs.
- Annual gross income means before taxes, for all borrowers. The calculator does not verify which income a lender will accept. Without income, you can enter a budget to estimate a price, but DTI and the slider are unavailable.
- Other monthly debts include ongoing debt payments such as auto loans, student loans and minimum card payments. Do not double-count the new housing payment, or rent or a mortgage this purchase replaces; include obligations you retain.
- Down payment is the cash you put toward the price. Closing costs are separate and are not modeled here.
- Interest rate is an assumption. The example is an illustration; the national average shown is a weekly survey figure, not a rate available to any one borrower.
- Property tax rate is entered as a share of the price, because the price is what is being solved for. Insurance and HOA dues are entered as amounts.
Total DTI = (monthly housing payment + other monthly debts) ÷ gross monthly income. For example, $120,000 annual income is $10,000 per month. A $3,500 housing payment plus $500 of other debts gives 40% total DTI; a $4,500 housing payment with the same debts gives 50%. Housing here includes principal, interest, property tax, home insurance, HOA and applicable PMI. The CFPB explains how DTI uses gross income.
How the price is solved
This calculator solves the loan and the insurance together, so a displayed price fits within the monthly budget you gave it. Property tax scales with the price inside the same solution. At the 20%-down mortgage-insurance boundary, the maximum affordable price can leave some of the budget unused.
Mortgage insurance is charged on a conventional loan while the down payment is under 20% of the price. For a fixed down payment that means any loan above four times it. When the budget lands near that line, the calculator buys the largest home it can put 20% down on rather than crossing into insurance for a marginal gain, and tells you so.
What this estimate leaves out
A lender's maximum comes from the whole file: credit history and score, reserves after closing, the loan program, the property type and occupancy, and the documentation of income. The 50% planning ceiling is not a universal lending limit. DTI does not account for all income taxes, food, utilities, childcare, maintenance or savings; do not treat the remaining gross income as spendable money. Closing costs, points, prepaid interest and the initial escrow deposit reduce the cash available for a down payment. The result here is a budgeting aid, not a lender's maximum and not a recommendation to spend it.
Reading the result
The rows under the price show how the budget is spent. If mortgage insurance appears, part of the budget is paying a premium instead of principal; the "what moves the price" table shows what a larger down payment, a lower rate, or a little more each month would do. A budget increase above 50% total DTI is flagged instead of presented as within the range. Change one thing at a time so the cause of a move is clear. When the budget is used up by taxes, insurance and dues alone, the calculator says so instead of showing a price that could not be borrowed.
Questions people ask
Does 50% DTI mean I qualify?
No. This calculator uses 50% as an exploration ceiling, not an approval rule. Fannie Mae permits up to 50% for Desktop Underwriter casefiles; manual underwriting generally has lower limits, and exceptions and other agency rules apply. Credit, reserves, documented income and the property still matter. See Fannie Mae’s DTI guidance.
What happened to the 28/36 guide?
That guideline compares housing with 28% of gross income and all debt payments with 36%. It is not this calculator’s cap or a universal loan requirement. Choose your own housing budget and review the estimated total DTI beside it, including scenarios through 50%.
Why can my budget target and estimated DTI differ?
The target assumes you spend the whole chosen budget. Estimated total DTI uses the payment of the home price actually modeled. Near the 20%-down PMI boundary, that price can leave some budget unused. The calculator shows the lower actual estimate separately from the target.
Should I use my maximum?
A budget with room in it survives a property tax reassessment, an insurance renewal, a car repair and a change in income. Many buyers set the budget below the maximum a lender would allow, then look for homes under the price that budget reaches.
How do I turn a price into a monthly payment?
The mortgage calculator works in that direction, with the same tax, insurance and mortgage insurance assumptions, and adds the total cost over the term and the effect of extra payments.
What is the next step after a number I like?
Pre-approval: a lender's written read of what you can borrow, based on documents someone has checked. Sellers' agents ask for it, and it is where the estimate on this page meets the real file. First-time buyers can start with the first-time home buyer guide.
Why does a bigger down payment change the price so much?
Two reasons. Every dollar of down payment is a dollar that does not have to be borrowed, and reaching 20% removes mortgage insurance, which frees part of the monthly budget to carry more loan.
Does the calculator count closing costs?
No. Closing costs, prepaid interest and the escrow deposit are paid at closing and reduce the cash available for a down payment. Keep them separate from the down payment you enter here.
Every figure on this page is an educational estimate from the assumptions you enter. It is not a loan quote, offer, approval, rate lock, or commitment to lend, and it does not include every cost a real loan carries. Rates shown as examples or as market averages are not rates available from Lendwise Mortgage. Written loan disclosures control the terms of any actual loan. Lendwise Mortgage, NMLS #2702455.