Wondering how much house you can afford? This free home affordability calculator uses your income, existing debts, and down payment to estimate a realistic home price based on the proven 28/36 debt-to-income rule. It shows your maximum monthly payment, loan amount, and a full principal, interest, tax, and insurance breakdown, plus a comfortable-to-stretch price range so you can decide with confidence. No signup required.
Use income before taxes. Lenders qualify you on gross, not take-home, pay.
Car loans, student loans, credit-card minimums, and other loan payments.
The cash you can put down up front. A bigger down payment raises your budget.
Add your gross income, debts, and down payment to see how much house you can comfortably afford.
Buying a home soon? Track your down-payment savings and monthly budget in Auritrack so you know exactly when you are ready to buy.
Try Auritrack FreeType in your income before taxes and choose whether the figure is per year or per month. Lenders qualify you on gross income, so use your salary before deductions, and include a co-borrower if you will buy together.
Enter the total of your recurring monthly debt payments: car loans, student loans, personal loans, and minimum credit-card payments. These reduce how much of your income can go toward a mortgage.
Add the cash you have saved for a down payment. A larger down payment lowers the loan you need and directly raises the home price you can afford.
Adjust the mortgage interest rate, loan term, annual property tax rate, and yearly home insurance to match your market. Sensible defaults are pre-filled so you can start immediately.
Instantly see the home price you can comfortably afford, a realistic-to-stretch range, your maximum monthly payment, the loan amount, and a full principal, interest, tax, and insurance breakdown.
There is a difference between the amount a lender will approve and the amount you can comfortably live with. Lenders decide the maximum by looking at your gross income, your existing debts, your down payment, and the interest rate on the day you apply. What they do not see is your grocery bill, your childcare costs, your retirement contributions, or how much you value a cushion in your bank account. A responsible home budget starts with the lender’s ceiling and then steps back from it. This calculator shows you both numbers: the realistic figure built on the 28/36 rule, and a stretch figure at the edge of what many lenders will approve. The right answer for you usually sits at or below the realistic line, not the stretch line.
The 28/36 rule is the backbone of mortgage qualification. The first number, the front-end ratio, says your total housing payment should not exceed 28% of your gross monthly income. Housing here means the full payment: principal, interest, property tax, and insurance, often abbreviated PITI. The second number, the back-end ratio, says all of your monthly debt payments combined, including the new mortgage, should not exceed 36% of gross monthly income. If you earn $8,000 a month, the front-end limit caps housing at $2,240, while the back-end limit caps total debt at $2,880. Whichever produces the smaller housing budget is the one that binds. This is why someone with a large car payment can afford less house than someone with the same salary and no debt. To see your ratios in isolation, use our debt-to-income calculator.
Your down payment does more than reduce the size of your loan. It shifts the entire math of what you can afford. Because your monthly payment is calculated on the loan amount, every dollar you add to the down payment is a dollar you do not have to finance at interest. A larger down payment also determines whether you pay private mortgage insurance. Putting down less than 20% on a conventional loan usually adds PMI to your monthly bill, which this calculator does not include, so a low-down-payment scenario is slightly more expensive in reality than the estimate suggests. Crossing the 20% threshold removes that cost entirely. Finally, a bigger down payment means a smaller loan relative to the home price, which lenders view as less risky and sometimes reward with a better interest rate. If you are still building your deposit, our savings goal calculator can tell you how much to set aside each month to reach it.
The sticker price of a home and the monthly cost of owning it are two different things. Property taxes alone can add hundreds of dollars a month depending on where you live, and they typically rise over time as your home is reassessed. Homeowners insurance is mandatory when you carry a mortgage, and premiums have climbed sharply in many regions. Beyond the payment itself, a widely used planning figure is to budget roughly 1% of the home’s value each year for maintenance and repairs, which this calculator does not add to the monthly total. On a $320,000 home, that is about $3,200 a year, or $267 a month, set aside for the roof, the water heater, and the surprises every homeowner eventually meets. If your home is part of a condo or planned community, HOA dues are an additional monthly cost lenders will count against you. Building these into your budget from the start is the difference between comfortable ownership and being house poor.
If the number this calculator shows is lower than you hoped, you have several levers to pull. The fastest is paying down existing debt: eliminating a $400 car payment frees up the entire amount for housing under the back-end ratio and can raise your budget by tens of thousands. Saving a larger down payment increases your price ceiling directly and may unlock a better rate. Raising your income, whether through a promotion, a second earner on the application, or documented side income, expands both DTI limits at once. Shopping for a lower interest rate matters more than most buyers realize, because even half a percentage point changes the loan you can carry for the same monthly payment. Finally, a longer loan term lowers the monthly payment and raises the price you qualify for, though it means more interest over the life of the loan. Before committing, it is worth comparing the true cost of owning against renting with our rent vs buy calculator, and modeling the exact payment on a specific price with our mortgage calculator.
Estimate your full monthly mortgage payment including property tax, insurance, and PMI, with total interest and a complete amortization schedule.
Compare the true cost of renting versus buying a home over any time period. Make smarter housing decisions.
Calculate your DTI ratio instantly. See your front-end and back-end ratios and learn which debts to cut to qualify for a loan or mortgage.
Calculate monthly loan payments, view amortization schedules, compare loan options, and model extra payment savings.
Buy With Confidence
Track your down-payment savings, monitor your monthly budget, and see when you are truly ready to buy. Auritrack works in any currency with AI-powered insights. Free to start.
Disclaimer: This tool is provided for informational and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial, tax, investment, or legal advice. Results are estimates based on the inputs you provide and may not reflect actual financial outcomes. Always consult a qualified financial professional before making financial decisions.
