Home Affordability Calculator 2026
The lender will tell you what they'll approve. This page tells you what you can afford.
Your maximum home price under the 28/36 rule — with property tax, insurance, HOA and PMI folded into the cap, the FHA and aggressive profiles alongside for comparison, and July 2026 rates as the default.
Guideline maths, July 2026 averages — lenders each apply their own overlays.
Two caps, one answer
The calculation
Your budget is the lower of two caps: 28% of gross monthly income for housing, or 36% minus your existing debt payments for everything. From that cap the calculator subtracts property tax, insurance, PMI and HOA — all of which scale with the price — and turns what's left into a loan at your rate. Because tax and PMI depend on the answer itself, it solves iteratively, the way an underwriter's worksheet does.
Worked example
$95,000 income → $2,217/mo housing cap. At 6.5% with $40,000 down: ~$267 tax + $208 insurance + $157 PMI leaves $1,585 of P&I → a $251,000 loan → ≈$291,000 house.
Conservative, FHA, and what lenders will actually approve
| Profile | Front / back | $95k income affords |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative (28/36) | 28% / 36% | ≈$291,000 |
| FHA-style (31/43) | 31% / 43% | ≈$321,000 |
| Aggressive (36/45) | 36% / 45% | ≈$371,000 |
All three get approved somewhere. The difference is what's left over: at 28/36 a job loss, a roof, or a baby is absorbable; at 36/45 the house owns the budget. Financial planners' consistent advice — borrow at the conservative number even when approved for the aggressive one.
20% is a threshold, not a requirement
The median first-time buyer puts down far less than 20% — conventional loans go to 3% down, FHA to 3.5%. What 20% buys is the absence of PMI (0.46–1.5% of the loan yearly by credit score) and a smaller loan. But waiting years to reach 20% in a rising market often costs more than the PMI would have: at 5% annual appreciation, a $300,000 target grows $15,000 a year while you save. Run both scenarios here — buy now with PMI at today's price, or later without it at tomorrow's — and let the numbers decide. PMI cancels at 20% equity anyway (22% automatically), often within a few years through payments plus appreciation.
❓ Frequently asked Frequently asked questions
How much house can I afford?
Under 28/36 at ~6.5%: a $95,000 income with $40,000 down and $400/mo debts affords ≈$291,000. Scale with your own numbers above.
What is the 28/36 rule?
Housing ≤28% of gross monthly income; housing plus all debts ≤36%. The lower cap binds.
How do debts affect it?
Each $100/mo of payments removes ≈$15,800 of loan capacity at 6.5% — a $450 car payment costs ≈$71,000 of house.
What if I put down less than 20%?
PMI is added (0.46–1.5%/yr of the loan by credit score) and counts inside the 28% cap. It cancels at 20% equity on request.
How much does the rate matter?
≈$22,000 of buying power per point on a $95,000 income — $291k at 6.5% becomes $313k at 5.5%.
Why is my pre-approval higher?
Lenders approve to risk limits (45%+ DTI), not comfort. The $80,000 gap between profiles is how buyers end up house-poor.
Where these figures come from
Rates and averages from the standard industry sources.
- Mortgage rates — Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (~6.49%, July 2026).
- Property tax rates — Tax Foundation — Property taxes by state and county.
- DTI guidelines — CFPB — Debt-to-income ratio and FHA Handbook 4000.1.
- PMI — Freddie Mac — Breaking down PMI.
Last checked: July 2026. Guideline arithmetic — every lender applies its own credit-score, reserve and overlay rules on top.
Select the question that matches where you are right now.
Your result is a price ceiling built from your real cash flows — not a lender's risk appetite.
Set your search filter at this number. Looking at houses 20% above it guarantees either heartbreak or overextension.
A pre-approval. Lenders add credit-score, reserves and employment checks — this page answers "should I", they answer "may I".
Standard underwriting arithmetic at July 2026 averages, solved iteratively. All calculations run in your browser.
Four levers set the ceiling.
The caps are percentages of gross — a raise moves the answer linearly.
Every $100/mo of payments erases ≈$15,800 of capacity when the back-end cap binds.
≈$22,000 per point. The biggest lever you don't control — and the reason to shop three lenders.
Adds dollar-for-dollar, and at 20% removes PMI from inside the cap.
In order of bang for buck.
Paying off a $300/mo car loan adds ≈$47,000 of house — usually far more than the same cash as extra down payment.
Three quotes routinely differ by 0.25–0.5% — worth $6,000–$11,000 of price at your budget.
760+ unlocks the best rate tier AND the cheapest PMI — the double effect can beat months of saving.
Once the price is set, the details follow.