How much house can I afford?
Enter your gross household income, existing debts, and cash on hand. The calculator applies the standard 28/36 DTI rule — front-end at 28% of gross monthly income for housing (PITI), back-end at 36% for all debt — and solves for the maximum home price that fits within the binding cap. PMI is iterated when down payment falls below 20%.
Last updated 2026-05-13
Your income & debts
Mortgage terms
Taxes & insurance
(realistic estimates)- Down payment
- $80,000 (19.0%)
- Loan amount
- $342,023
- Principal & interest
- $2,247/mo
- Property tax
- $264/mo
- Insurance
- $145/mo
- PMI
- $143/mo
- Total PITI
- $2,798/mo
- Front-end (28% of income)
- $2,800 ←
- Back-end (36% − debts)
- $3,100
MethodologyThe 28/36 rule, in plain terms
The 28/36 rule, in plain terms
Front-end DTI caps housing-only payment (PITI = principal + interest + property tax + insurance) at 28% of gross monthly income. A household earning $10,000/month gets a $2,800/month housing budget.
Back-end DTI caps total recurring debt at 36% of gross. So for the same household with $500/month in car + student-loan payments, the housing budget is $10,000 × 36% − $500 = $3,100. The smaller of front-end and back-end binds.
PMI iteration: the calculator first solves assuming no PMI, then checks LTV against the resulting home price. If down-payment cash falls below 20% of the affordable price, PMI is added to the budget (tiered per FNMA Form 4030 guidance) and the calc refines. Two passes suffice.
Caveats: these are underwriting baselines, not your reality. Lenders may stretch ratios for strong credit, large reserves, or compensating factors. Conversely, they may pull back for jumbo loans or weak credit. See the full methodology.