How Much House Can I Afford?

Find out how much of a mortgage you can qualify for and how much house you can afford.

Written by
Rene Bermudez
Updated on: July 01, 2025
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How Does LendingTree Get Paid?

LendingTree is compensated by companies on this site and this compensation may impact how and where offers appear on this site (such as the order). LendingTree does not include all lenders, savings products, or loan options available in the marketplace.
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Home affordability calculator

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How to use our mortgage affordability calculator

Enter your gross annual income and total monthly debts, choose a down payment amount and select a loan term to figure out how much house you can afford.

LendingTree’s calculator defaults to a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage, but there’s a 15-year fixed-rate term option if you can afford a higher monthly mortgage payment and want to save on interest charges.

How to adjust your price range

Our calculator is preset to a “conservative” 28% DTI ratio; most lenders set a maximum DTI limit between 41% and 45%. You can slide the bar up to an “aggressive” 50% DTI ratio if you’re willing to make room in your budget for a higher payment.

 It’s harder to qualify for a high-DTI loan

If you carry a lot of debt, lenders may require a higher credit score or extra mortgage reserves to cover a few months’ worth of mortgage payments.

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Understanding how much mortgage you can afford

How much mortgage you can afford comes down to two things:

  1. How much a mortgage lender will qualify you to borrow, based on your income, debt and down payment savings
  2. How much money you have in your budget after all of your other expenses are covered

Weighing both of these components is crucial, because you typically can’t spend more on a home than you can borrow and you shouldn’t borrow more than you can comfortably afford to pay each month.

Factors that affect how much house you can afford

Your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio

Lenders divide your total monthly debt payments by your income to determine whether you can afford another loan.

Your down payment

The higher your down payment, the higher the loan amount you can qualify for.

Your loan term

A 30-year fixed-rate mortgage offers the lowest stable payment. If you choose a 15-year fixed-rate term, you’ll save money on interest, but won’t qualify for as much house.

Your interest rate

Higher mortgage rates mean higher monthly payments. So the higher your rate, the less house you can afford.

How much house can I afford based on my salary?

Financial planners often mention the “28/36 rule” when it comes to home affordability.

→ The 28 is a recommended DTI ratio for your monthly mortgage payment compared to your gross monthly income. Lenders call this your “front-end” DTI ratio.

→ The 36 is a recommended DTI ratio for your mortgage payment, plus any other debt like auto loans, credit cards, student loans or other accounts that appear on your credit report. This is your “back-end” DTI ratio.

28/36 rule examples

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $1,092,079. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $4,666.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $6,000.

Here’s how we got to those numbers, assuming you make $200,000 per year ($16,666 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%16,666 x 0.28 = $4,666Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $4,666.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%16,666 x 0.36 = $6,000Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $6,000.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $977,667. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $4,200.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $5,400.

Here’s how we got those numbers, assuming you make $180,000 per year ($15,000 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%15,000 x 0.28 = $4,200Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $4,200.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%15,000 x 0.36 = $5,400Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $5,400.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $519,810. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $2,333.
    Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $3,000.

Here’s how the 28/36 rule math works, assuming you make $100,000 per year ($8,333 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%8,333 x 0.28 = $2,333Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $2,333.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%8,333 x 0.36 = $3,000Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $3,000.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $405,397. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,867.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $2,400.

Here’s how we got those numbers, assuming you make $80,000 per year ($6,667 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%6,667 x 0.28 = $1,867Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,867.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%6,667 x 0.36 = $2,400Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $2,400.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $348,122. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,633.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $2,100.

Here’s how we got those numbers, assuming you make $70,000 per year ($5,833 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%5,833 x 0.28 = $1,633Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,633.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%5,833 x 0.36 = $2,100Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $2,100.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $290,915. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,400.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $1,800.

Here’s how we got those numbers, assuming you make $60,000 per year ($5,000 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%5,000 x 0.28 = $1,400Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,400.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%5,000 x 0.36 = $1,800Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $1,800.

In today’s market, you could likely afford a home worth around $233,709. Assuming a 20% down payment and 6.85% mortgage interest rate.

  • Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,167.
  • Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $1,500.

Here’s how we got those numbers, assuming you make $50,000 per year ($4,167 per month) before taxes.

What you want to knowCalculation stepThe mathWhat the results mean
If my “front-end” DTI ratio is 28%, what monthly mortgage payment can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 28%4,167 x 0.28 = $1,167Your monthly mortgage payment, including taxes and insurance, shouldn't exceed $1,167.
If my “back-end” DTI ratio is 36%, what monthly debt payments can I afford?Multiply your monthly income by 36%4,167 x 0.36 = $1,500Your total monthly debt, including your mortgage payment, shouldn't exceed $1,500.

How do lenders calculate how much I can afford?

  1. Your DTI ratio is the main factor lenders use to determine how much they’ll qualify you to borrow. They divide your monthly debt load by your monthly income to calculate it, and typically won’t allow your DTI ratio to exceed 45%.
  2. Your income is calculated pretax, meaning paycheck deductions for retirement or health insurance aren’t factored in. So while a lender may say you can afford extra debt, your take-home pay may not be enough to cover your living expenses.
  3. Lenders don’t take all of your expenses into account — just the kinds of debts that would appear on a credit report, like auto loan or student loan payments. So all your extra commitments, like gym memberships, cell phone bills and groceries won’t be considered.

6 ways to increase how much house you can afford

  • BOOST YOUR CREDIT SCORE

    Keep your credit card balances low, pay everything on time and avoid opening a lot of new credit accounts. A higher credit score will get you a lower interest rate, which equals a lower monthly mortgage payment.

  • MAKE A BIGGER DOWN PAYMENT

    Your loan amount and mortgage payment will be lower with a larger down payment. The full amount doesn’t have to be from your own funds, however. You can get a gift from a relative, take out a 401(k) loan or combine your down payment with down payment assistance programs.

  • GROW YOUR MONTHLY INCOME

    Don’t forget your side hustle income — you can use it to help you qualify for a loan, as long as your tax returns show part-time income for the last two years. Plus, two incomes are better than one, so if you can cosign the mortgage with someone you’ll have more borrowing power.

  • REDUCE YOUR MONTHLY DEBT

    The less debt you have, the more house you can afford. If your DTI ratio is holding you back, consider putting a lump sum toward an outstanding personal loan balance, or selling a car and paying off the auto loan.

  • CHOOSE A LONGER LOAN TERM

    You’ll be able to afford a bigger home with a longer repayment term, such as 30 years. However, if the higher monthly payment doesn’t strain your monthly budget, a shorter term can save you thousands in interest charges.

  • CONSIDER A DIFFERENT LOAN PROGRAM

    Government-backed loan programs may allow for a higher DTI ratio than conventional loans, even if you have a lower credit score. Still, they come with higher mortgage insurance costs or guarantee fees that could affect how much you can afford.
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