How much house can I afford?
Estimate a responsible home-price range using income, debts, down payment, rate, taxes, insurance, and a target debt-to-income ratio. Nothing is stored or sent to a server.
How this estimate works
This calculator starts with your gross monthly income, subtracts your existing monthly debt load, and applies your target debt-to-income ratio. It then solves for the home price whose monthly principal, interest, tax, and insurance payment fits that limit. It is intentionally conservative because it does not assume rental income, bonus income, or aggressive compensating factors.
Most lenders evaluate two ratios. The front-end ratio looks only at housing cost divided by gross monthly income. The back-end ratio adds car payments, credit cards, student loans, and other required debts. A 36% back-end ratio is a classic conservative benchmark. Some programs approve higher ratios, but a higher approval ceiling does not always mean a higher payment is comfortable.
Use the result as a planning range, not a promise. Then compare actual loan estimates across lenders using the same purchase price, down payment, loan term, and lock period.
Should I use gross income or take-home pay?
Lenders use gross income for qualification, but your real budget depends on take-home pay. If the result feels high, lower the target DTI to 30% or 32% and rerun the numbers.
Why does the estimate change so much when rates move?
Higher interest rates increase the monthly payment for the same loan amount. When the payment limit is fixed by income and debts, the affordable loan amount falls.