Estimate your maximum home price and loan from your income, debts, and down payment using lenders' 28/36 rule — with a full breakdown of the monthly payment.
This is an estimate using the 28/36 guideline and assumes taxes and insurance scale with price as entered. It excludes PMI, maintenance, and closing costs, and lenders weigh credit and other factors. What you qualify for is not necessarily what's comfortable to spend. This tool is for educational purposes only and is not financial or mortgage advice.
Lenders gauge affordability with two debt-to-income ratios, known together as the 28/36 rule. The front-end ratio caps your housing payment at about 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio caps all your monthly debt — housing plus car loans, student loans, and minimum credit card payments — at about 36%. Your budget is whichever limit is lower.
From that maximum monthly housing payment, the calculator works backward through the mortgage math — subtracting taxes, insurance, and HOA, then solving for the loan that fits — and adds your down payment to arrive at the maximum home price.
A mortgage payment is more than principal and interest. Lenders look at PITI — principal, interest, taxes, and insurance — and usually include HOA dues where they apply. Property taxes and homeowners insurance can add hundreds a month and are easy to underestimate, which is why the breakdown above separates them out.
If your down payment is under 20%, most conventional loans also add private mortgage insurance (PMI), which this estimate doesn't include — so budget a little below the maximum to leave room for it.
Two levers move affordability the most. A larger down payment reduces the loan you need and can help you avoid PMI, raising the price you can reach. A lower interest rate shrinks the interest portion of the payment, freeing room for a bigger loan within the same budget.
Paying down existing debt also helps directly: every dollar of monthly debt you eliminate frees room under the 36% back-end limit, which is often the binding constraint for buyers carrying car or student loans.
The 28/36 rule is a lender's ceiling, not a personal budget. It ignores goals the bank doesn't see: retirement saving, childcare, travel, or simply not wanting to feel house-poor. Many buyers deliberately target a payment below the maximum to keep breathing room.
A useful gut check is to live on the would-be payment for a couple of months — setting aside the difference between your current housing cost and the new one — and see whether it feels sustainable before committing.
This calculator estimates a range; a lender's pre-approval turns it into a real number based on your credit, verified income, and current rates. It also tells sellers you're a serious buyer. Because rates and fees vary between lenders, comparing a few pre-approvals can change both your rate and your maximum price.
Treat the figure here as a starting point for those conversations, not the final word.
A common guideline caps your housing payment near 28% of gross monthly income and total debt near 36%. Enter your income, debts, and down payment above and the calculator estimates the matching home price.
It's two limits lenders use: housing costs up to about 28% of gross monthly income (front-end), and all debt up to about 36% (back-end). The lower of the two sets your maximum housing payment.
Yes. The estimate is based on PITI — principal, interest, property taxes, and insurance — plus HOA if you enter it. It excludes PMI, maintenance, and closing costs, so leave some margin.
A bigger down payment lowers the loan you need and can help you avoid PMI, both of which raise the home price you can afford for the same monthly payment.
Not necessarily. The 28/36 rule is a lender's ceiling, not a budget. Many buyers choose a payment below the maximum to leave room for saving and other goals.