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Home Affordability Calculator

U.S. only tools

Affordability is not the same as approval, and it is definitely not the same as comfort. Lenders apply debt-to-income (DTI) ratios to decide what they will finance; this calculator applies the same rules to show the most expensive house that fits your numbers before you start viewing properties.

Home Affordability Calculator - Danfio

https://danfio.com/tools/home-affordability-calculator/ - printed from this page

Currency: USD ($) - display only, nothing was converted

$

Household income before tax, as lenders count it.

$

Car loans, student loans, personal loans and minimum card payments.

$

Cash you can put toward the purchase; it sets the loan amount the payment is computed on.

The rate quoted for your profile and loan type; it moves the affordable price more than any other field.

30 years buys more house for the same payment; 15 years pays far less interest.

Your county assessment rate; the annual bill is roughly this share of the home value.

$

Homeowners insurance for the year, as quoted for the address you are shopping.

$

Dues for a condo or a planned community, if any; lenders count them in the housing payment.

The share of gross pay a lender allows for housing alone; 28% is the conventional rule of thumb.

The share of gross pay allowed for housing plus every other debt; 36% is the common ceiling.

Results update as you type. Nothing leaves your device.

Currency symbol

Symbol only - nothing is converted and no exchange rate is used. Figures quoted in the explanation text stay as the sources publish them.

Maximum home price

$300,000

$260,000 mortgage plus your $40,000 down payment. Estimated monthly housing cost $2,100.00.

Total monthly housing
$2,100.00
Housing budget
$2,100.00
Binding limit
Housing 28% rule
Resulting DTI
34.7%

Monthly housing budget breakdown

  • Principal & interest$1,649.10
  • Property tax$300.90
  • Insurance$150.00

Everything except principal and interest is set by where you buy, not by your income.

How the limit was reached

Housing budget (front-end)
$2,100.00
Budget after other debts
$2,200.00
Housing as % of income
28%
Cash for a 20% down payment
$60,181

Monthly cost at nearby price points

Home priceLoan amountPrincipal & interestTotal housing
$240,000$200,000$1,264.14$1,654.14
$270,000$230,000$1,453.76$1,873.76
$300,000 (maximum)$260,000$1,643.38$2,093.38
$330,000$290,000$1,833.00$2,313.00

Same down payment at every price point, so the monthly figure reflects the price difference alone.

Your $40,000 down payment is under 20% of this price, so mortgage insurance is likely and a lender may approve a lower maximum.

The estimate includes property tax, homeowners insurance and HOA dues, because a lender counts those in the housing payment — and because a $400,000 house with 2.5% taxes costs meaningfully more per month than the same house at 0.6%. Every figure is computed in your browser; nothing you type is uploaded.

About this home affordability calculator

You usually start from a payment, but the price behind it is the harder number. It exists because how much house you can afford depends on the price itself: property tax and insurance scale with the home, so the maximum cannot be read off a payment table — it has to be solved. The calculator does that algebraically, using the front-end and back-end debt-to-income limits that lenders actually apply. Those limits are the same ones split apart in the debt-to-income calculator, and the payment the price has to support is priced with the mortgage calculator.

It is deliberately conservative and deliberately local: tax rate, insurance and HOA are inputs rather than a national average, and the result is the most expensive house that fits the DTI budget — not a recommendation and not an approval. Your figures never leave the browser, the assumptions are printed with their sources on the page, and the person who maintains the site reads the inbox if your market is missing a convention.

How this home affordability calculator works

The 28/36 rule

The front-end ratio caps housing costs at 28% of gross monthly income. The back-end ratio caps all debt payments — housing plus car loans, student loans, minimum card payments and personal loans — at 36%. Each ratio turns into a monthly budget: 28% of income for housing, 36% for all debts together.

The calculator applies both and reports whichever binds first. A household with large existing debts usually hits the back-end limit and can afford less house, even on a strong income. Both percentages are inputs, so you can test the tighter or looser rules a specific lender uses.

Why the answer is solved, not guessed

Property tax depends on the home price, so the maximum price cannot be read straight off a payment table. The calculator solves the equation algebraically: it finds the loan amount whose payment, added to tax, insurance, HOA and existing debts, exactly consumes the DTI budget.

The result therefore reflects your local tax rate instead of a national average, which matters most in high-tax states. The smaller of the two budgets — the front-end housing budget or the back-end total-debt budget — is the one that decides the price, and that binding limit is what the page reports as your cap.

What is left out

Closing costs, moving expenses and emergency repairs are excluded from the DTI test. Mortgage insurance is not added into the payment the calculator solves for: it only flags when your down payment is below 20% of the recommended price, because a real quote with PMI would approve a smaller house than the one shown here.

So treat the result as the optimistic ceiling of the DTI rules — the most expensive house the two ratios allow before lenders add their own rate, PMI and appraisal adjustments on top.

Using the answer without overpaying

The result is the most expensive house that fits the debt-to-income budget — not what you should buy and not an approval. Approval is decided by a lender on your actual income, credit, down payment and local rules.

Many buyers find that a house priced ten to twenty percent below the maximum is where the payment stops crowding out savings and repairs. Run the calculator at both your DTI limits and a more comfortable one, and compare the two payments before you start searching.

What the maximum price leaves out

The number at the top is a borrowing limit, not a budget. It answers what a lender would lend against your income and debts, and it deliberately leaves out the costs of ownership that never appear in a debt-to-income ratio: maintenance, utilities, a longer commute, and the savings a single surprise repair can consume.

That is why the page also prints the monthly cost at price points below the maximum. The same down payment at a lower price buys a smaller principal-and-interest line, and the difference is money that stays in your budget every month for as long as you own the house - a commitment far longer than the mortgage term suggests.

Property tax, insurance and HOA dues are the parts that change with the address rather than with your income, so a house at the top of your range in a high-tax county can cost more per month than a slightly pricier one elsewhere. Enter the local figures before comparing two listings.

Worked examples

Each example below was run through the calculator on this page when the site was built, so the numbers match what you see when you enter the same inputs.

$90,000 income, modest debts

Gross annual income: $90,000.00 · Other monthly debt payments: $500.00 · Down payment available: $40,000.00 · Mortgage rate: 6.5% · Loan term: 30 years · Property tax rate: 1.2% · Home insurance: $1,800.00 · HOA dues: $0.00 · Front-end DTI limit: 28% · Back-end DTI limit: 36%

Maximum home price

$300,000

$260,000 mortgage plus your $40,000 down payment. Estimated monthly housing cost $2,100.00.

Total monthly housing: $2,100.00 · Housing budget: $2,100.00 · Binding limit: Housing 28% rule · Resulting DTI: 34.7%

The front-end housing limit binds first: the 28% cap on housing is reached before total debts hit 36%.

$150,000 income with car and student loans

Gross annual income: $150,000.00 · Other monthly debt payments: $1,200.00 · Down payment available: $60,000.00 · Mortgage rate: 6.5% · Loan term: 30 years · Property tax rate: 1.8% · Home insurance: $2,400.00 · HOA dues: $150.00 · Front-end DTI limit: 28% · Back-end DTI limit: 36%

Maximum home price

$425,000

$365,000 mortgage plus your $60,000 down payment. Estimated monthly housing cost $3,300.00.

Total monthly housing: $3,300.00 · Housing budget: $3,300.00 · Binding limit: Total debt rule · Resulting DTI: 36%

Existing debt and a high tax rate pull the maximum price well below the headline income multiple.

Stretching to a 43% back-end ratio

Gross annual income: $120,000.00 · Other monthly debt payments: $900.00 · Down payment available: $50,000.00 · Mortgage rate: 6.75% · Loan term: 30 years · Property tax rate: 1.2% · Home insurance: $2,000.00 · HOA dues: $0.00 · Front-end DTI limit: 31% · Back-end DTI limit: 43%

Maximum home price

$435,000

$385,000 mortgage plus your $50,000 down payment. Estimated monthly housing cost $3,100.00.

Total monthly housing: $3,100.00 · Housing budget: $3,100.00 · Binding limit: Housing 28% rule · Resulting DTI: 40%

Many lenders approve up to 43% with compensating factors — a bigger number, and a bigger risk to the household budget.

$90,000 income, high-tax county

Gross annual income: $90,000.00 · Other monthly debt payments: $300.00 · Down payment available: $40,000.00 · Mortgage rate: 6.5% · Loan term: 30 years · Property tax rate: 2.4% · Home insurance: $1,800.00 · HOA dues: $0.00 · Front-end DTI limit: 28% · Back-end DTI limit: 36%

Maximum home price

$264,000

$224,000 mortgage plus your $40,000 down payment. Estimated monthly housing cost $2,100.00.

Total monthly housing: $2,100.00 · Housing budget: $2,100.00 · Binding limit: Housing 28% rule · Resulting DTI: 32%

The first example pairs the same income with a 1.2% tax rate; doubling the local rate to 2.4% takes tens of thousands of dollars of buying power off the table for no change in the mortgage itself.

Frequently asked questions

What is a debt-to-income ratio?

It is your monthly debt payments divided by gross monthly income. Lenders look at housing costs alone (front-end) and all debts together (back-end). 28% and 36% are the conservative guidelines; 31% and 43% are common maximums for conventional approvals.

Should I borrow the maximum I am approved for?

Usually not. Approval leaves no room for repairs, medical bills, a layoff or a cut in hours. Many buyers find a house priced 10% to 20% below their maximum is the point where the payment still allows them to keep saving.

How does the down payment change the answer?

Every extra dollar of down payment adds directly to the price you can afford, and once you reach 20% of the price the mortgage insurance cost disappears, which frees more monthly budget. Keep closing costs and an emergency fund out of the down payment pot.

Why does the calculator use gross income?

Lenders use gross (pre-tax) income for the DTI test. Your take-home pay is smaller, so a payment that fits the 28/36 rule can still feel tight. Compare the result with your actual bank balance, not your salary.

What if a debt will be paid off before closing?

Run the calculator twice, once with the debt and once without. Underwriters generally count debts you will carry at closing, so a car loan with two payments left may still be included until it is genuinely repaid.

Does the calculator include mortgage insurance?

It flags when PMI is likely but does not add it to the housing payment, because the DTI test lenders apply is normally calculated on principal, interest, taxes, insurance and HOA dues. Add the PMI estimate from the mortgage calculator to the monthly figure if your down payment is under 20%.

Assumptions and sources

  • Front-end (28%) and back-end (36%) debt-to-income limits follow the long-standing conventional lending guidelines used by US housing agencies.
  • The maximum price is solved algebraically from the payment formula, including price-linked property tax.
  • The result is the most expensive house that fits the DTI budget you set; a lender underwrites actual income, credit and other factors, and what fits the budget comfortably is usually less. This is an estimate page, not financial advice.

Last reviewed 2026-10-05. An estimate, not financial advice; your lender's Loan Estimate overrides it. Read the full disclaimer.

Where a figure on this page comes from an official agency — HUD, IRS, FICO or a state body — the site keeps a dated snapshot of the source page in its sources library, and a scheduled job re-checks that snapshot, so the number can be traced back to the document it came from.

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