Homebuying budget

Home Affordability Calculator

Estimate the home price supported by your housing budget, total debt-to-income limit, financing assumptions, and available cash.

Affordability estimate

Maximum modeled home price

$434,783

Limited by available cash.

Monthly housing cost

$2,783

Principal, interest, tax, insurance, HOA, and entered PMI.

Loan amount$347,826

Down payment$86,957

Estimated closing costs$13,043

Total cash required$100,000

Principal and interest$2,198

Property tax$435

Mortgage insurance$0

Housing DTI27.8%

Total DTI32.8%

Affordability is not loan approval. Preserve emergency savings and account for utilities, repairs, moving, furnishings, taxes, rate changes, and lender-specific underwriting.

How affordability is calculated

The monthly housing budget is the lower of the entered front-end limit and the back-end limit after other debt. The calculator solves for the home price whose principal, interest, tax, insurance, HOA, and PMI fit that budget, then applies the available-cash constraint.

Important limitations

DTI limits are planning assumptions, not universal lender standards or approval criteria.
Excludes utilities, maintenance, repairs, moving, furnishings, reserves, and rate-lock changes.
Mortgage insurance is modeled as a constant percentage of the original loan and may not match an actual quote or cancellation schedule.

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Planning guide

Read the complete guide →

Understand this estimate before using it

Quick answer

What does the Home Affordability Calculator do?

Estimate a home price from income, debts, DTI limits, financing, and cash. It solves for the home price supported by the lower of front-end and back-end housing budgets, then checks the result against available cash.

Formula and calculation method

It solves for the home price supported by the lower of front-end and back-end housing budgets, then checks the result against available cash.

The result is only as reliable as the inputs. Use current balances, rates, fees, dates, and documents; then change uncertain assumptions to see whether the conclusion remains stable.

How to interpret the result

Treat the output as a comparison or planning range, not a quote, approval, eligibility decision, tax return, or prediction. Review the breakdown—not only its headline number—and read every stated exclusion.

For current background, review HUD homebuying resources. Product documents and official program tools control when they differ from this educational model.

Worked scenario

Put the result in context

For a $400,000 property, list acquisition cash, annual operating income and expenses, financing, reserves, and expected selling costs separately. Test a lower rent or sale value rather than assuming the base case is certain.

This scenario illustrates the method; it is not a quote, forecast, recommendation, or substitute for entering your actual facts.

Before you calculate

Gather current information before changing the defaults. A result based on verified records is more useful than a precise answer built from guesses.

income and existing monthly debt

Check the date, unit, and source of this input before entering it.

the two DTI limits (housing and total)

Check the date, unit, and source of this input before entering it.

down payment, rate and term

Check the date, unit, and source of this input before entering it.

cash on hand for down payment and closing costs

Check the date, unit, and source of this input before entering it.

What the result can answer

It can show how the entered assumptions interact, provide a consistent comparison, and reveal whether changing one important input materially changes the estimate.

What the result cannot decide

It cannot confirm approval, eligibility, market pricing, future performance, legal or tax treatment, contract quality, or whether the choice fits every part of your finances.

A practical next-step workflow

01 · Verify
Compare the inputs with current statements, quotes, official rules, and product documents.
02 · Stress-test
Run a second case with a less favorable value for cash on hand for down payment and closing costs.
03 · Confirm
Get a lender pre-approval, which applies its own underwriting, and leave a cash buffer after the down payment and closing costs before acting.

Frequently asked questions

Does cap rate include the mortgage?

No. Cap rate generally divides property net operating income before financing by property value or acquisition price.

Is rent versus buy only a financial decision?

No. Flexibility, stability, maintenance responsibility, and personal preferences also matter.

What can make this estimate differ from an actual result?

Timing, rounding, rate changes, fees, taxes, eligibility rules, product conventions, and facts not requested by this focused calculator can all create differences.

Which inputs deserve a second scenario?

Retest any input that is quoted rather than fixed, depends on future behavior, or materially changes the result. Conservative and optimistic cases reveal more than false precision.

What should I verify before making a decision?

Verify current statements, disclosures, official rules, taxes, fees, cancellation or prepayment terms, and the consequences of a less favorable outcome.

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Prepared by Loan Lyze Editorial and reviewed under the Loan Lyze editorial framework on November 8, 2026. Educational estimate only. See our methodology, editorial policy, and corrections policy.

Estimate an affordable home price

How affordability is calculated

Important limitations