Budget tool
How Much House Can I Afford?
Lenders size housing to a share of your income — the classic 28/36 rule — and cap total debt at 43% as the historical Qualified-Mortgage benchmark. This calculator solves for the max price that fits, and shows you both the guideline answer and the stretch scenario.
Default rate: 7.03% (Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), September 24, 2026). DTI limits are adjustable — the defaults are conventions, not law.
How much house can I afford?
Built on the classic 28/36 rule lenders use to size loans, with the DTI limits adjustable so you can see what a stretch actually costs.
A reasonable max home price
$379,953
$2,566.67/mo all-in (P&I + tax + insurance) · loan $303,963 at 7.03% · 30-yr
Front-end allowance (housing)
$2,567/mo
28% of monthly income
Back-end allowance (after debts)
$2,650/mo
36% minus $650 in debts
Binding constraint
28% housing cap
Housing cap is the tighter limit for you
Total debts at this price stay under the 43% historical QM benchmark most lenders still size against.
Guideline price (28/36 DTI)
$379,953
What the classic lender conventions allow. Comfortable, conservative — and what most automated underwriting assumes.
43% benchmark price (historical QM ceiling)
$487,278
The most a qualified mortgage can stretch to with your debts. Legal maximum ≠ comfortable: leaves no margin for life happening.
Every figure here is formula output from cited defaults (rate, deductions, taxes shown in the assumptions). Planning estimate — not tax or financial advice.
Method notes
- The 28/36 rule: housing costs ≤ 28% of gross monthly income; housing + all debt ≤ 36%. These are lender conventions, not law — FHA and some programs allow more.
- The 43% benchmark is the historical Qualified-Mortgage ceiling (Ability-to-Repay rules, 2014–2021). The federal General QM test is now price-based rather than a fixed DTI cap, but 43% remains the conventional stretch reference.
- Max price is solved so that P&I + tax + insurance fits the tighter of the two limits; PMI is not added (it depends on credit profile — add margin if putting under 20% down).
- Rate default: Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), September 24, 2026 (www.freddiemac.com/pmms).
- This is a planning estimate, not pre-approval. Your lender's numbers govern.
28/36 and 43%, honestly explained
The 28/36 rule predates most of modern underwriting: housing costs ≤ 28% of gross income, and housing plus all other debt payments ≤ 36%. It remains the most common conventional sizing convention — conservative enough that loans sized to it historically performed well.
The 43% benchmark is the historical Qualified-Mortgage ceiling from the post-2008 Ability-to-Repay rules. In 2021 the CFPB replaced that fixed cap with a price-based General QM test (loan APR vs. a market benchmark), so 43% is no longer a federal legal ceiling — but it remains the reference point most borrowers and lenders still size against, and a useful way to see what a stretch costs. FHA and some portfolio programs go higher; this tool shows the gap rather than talking you into it.
What's deliberately not in this number: PMI (depends on your credit profile — add margin if you're under 20% down), closing costs, maintenance, and the actual tax escrow your county will assess. Your lender's pre-approval is the binding number.
FAQ
How much mortgage can I afford on my salary?
Computationally: the price whose payment fits both conventions — housing costs at or under 28% of gross income, and housing plus all debt payments at or under 36%. The calculator solves both constraints at once from your salary, monthly debts, rate, down payment, and tax/insurance inputs, and shows which constraint bound the answer. Enter your numbers above and the max price updates live.
What is the 28/36 rule?
A lending convention, not a law: housing costs (payment, taxes, insurance) stay at or below 28% of gross income, and total debt payments stay at or below 36%. It predates modern automated underwriting and remains the conservative benchmark most borrowers are still sized against — the section above covers the 43% historical ceiling too.
What's the difference between pre-qualification and affordability?
This calculator computes the convention: what price fits the 28/36 constraints at your inputs. Pre-qualification is a lender's estimate from unverified stated figures; pre-approval verifies credit and documents and produces the number a seller treats as real. The three can disagree — the calculator's honest role is showing what the convention allows before the lender's number arrives.
Where to go next
A max price is not a payment: check what the price costs monthly in the mortgage calculator, and what cash you'll need at the table — the max price excludes closing costs — in the closing cost calculator. Holding the loan long? The mortgage payoff calculator shows what the 30-year schedule really costs and what extra payments change. Planning a low down payment? The what down payment avoids PMI guide explains the 20% threshold and the 78% auto-drop rule.