how much home can you afford?

A common guideline is to keep your housing payment near 28% of gross monthly income, and your housing payment plus all other debt payments at or below 36%. This calculator uses the 36% total-debt guideline for its main answer and also shows what higher, riskier debt levels would buy.

Debt-to-income (DTI) is your total required monthly debt payments, including the new mortgage, divided by your gross monthly income. Lenders lean on it heavily when approving loans. Lower is safer; many loans allow DTI into the mid-40s, but budgets that high leave little margin.

More cash down means a smaller loan for the same house, which lowers the monthly payment, and at 20% down you avoid private mortgage insurance on conventional loans. Cash also caps your budget: you need enough to cover the down payment plus closing costs, which often run 2% to 5% of the price (this calculator assumes 3%).

The monthly payment includes loan principal and interest, estimated property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA fees if you enter one. It does not include utilities, maintenance, or mortgage insurance, so treat the result as a guideline and leave room in your budget.