How much house can you afford?
The single biggest home-buying question — "how much house can I afford?" — comes down to balancing three things: how much you earn, how much you already owe, and how much cash you can put down. This calculator combines all three with current interest rates, typical property taxes, homeowners insurance, and (if applicable) private mortgage insurance to estimate a realistic home price for your budget.
The 28/36 rule, explained
Most conventional lenders lean on a version of the "28/36 rule" when evaluating how much to lend:
- Front-end ratio (28%): Your total housing payment — principal, interest, taxes, insurance, PMI, and HOA dues — generally shouldn't exceed 28% of your gross monthly income.
- Back-end ratio (36%): Your housing payment plus all other monthly debt obligations generally shouldn't exceed 36% of your gross monthly income (some loan programs allow higher back-end ratios, especially FHA loans).
Want to dig deeper into these thresholds specifically? Try our 28/36 Rule Calculator or our Debt-to-Income Calculator.
A worked example
Say you earn $90,000 per year ($7,500/month gross), have $400/month in existing debt, and plan to put down $30,000 at a 6.5% interest rate on a 30-year loan. Your 28% housing cap is $2,100/month, while your 36% total-debt cap leaves $2,300/month for housing after your existing debts. The lower of the two — $2,100/month — becomes your effective housing budget, which this calculator then converts into a maximum home price after layering in estimated property tax, insurance, and PMI.
Ways to afford more home
- Increase your down payment to shrink your loan amount and avoid PMI.
- Pay down existing debt to free up more room under the 36% back-end cap.
- Shop for a lower interest rate — even 0.5% matters. Try our Mortgage Rate Calculator to see the impact.
- Consider a longer loan term to lower your monthly principal & interest.
- Look into FHA or VA programs if you qualify — see our FHA Affordability Calculator and VA Affordability Calculator.