Home Affordability Calculator

Use the home affordability calculator to determine what price of home you can afford. This is a great tool to use before you begin to search for your new home as it will help answer the age old question of “how much can I afford to pay for a house?” Knowing how much you can afford to pay for a new home and also knowing how much your total monthly costs will be, can help prospective home buyers create a proper budget prior to entering into their home search.

To use the home affordability calculator, start by entering in your gross annual income, down payment and other monthly debt. Those debts are non-housing related and will help create a more accurate home affordability picture. Based on current mortgage rate trends, we have estimated the interest rate and loan term. Both can be modified if you know what type of mortgage you will be securing. You can also add in estimates for annual property tax, annual home insurance and HOA dues. If your down payment is less than 20% of the purchase price, you may also want to include PMI, which is mandatory for all mortgages with a down payment of less than 20%.

After calculating your home affordability price, you will see the price of the home you can afford. A good rule of thumb is that the debt-to-income ratio (DTI) for your housing related costs should be 28% or less of your gross income and your total monthly expenses (including all debt payments) should be 36% or less. You can use the DTI slider to see how your numbers change when you increase or decrease your DTI.

The monthly income breakdown will show you your total monthly income as well as your other monthly home related expenses, other debts, income tax and any remaining income for savings or emergencies. Note that the income tax owing will change depending on your income bracket, which is taken into account in this home affordability calculator.

Definitions

Gross Annual Income

This is the total amount of income earned from all sources; before taxes and over the period of one year. If you have a co-borrower, also include their gross annual income in this box.

Down Payment

This is the initial payment that will be made towards the purchase price of the home. Down payments are often expressed as percentages. A minimum down payment of 20% will avoid PMI fees.

Other Monthly Debt

This includes any other monthly debts that you might have from various sources including: credit cards, vehicle payments, loans, child support or any other recurring debts that you might have.

Interest Rate

This is the interest charged on the mortgage. Mortgage rates will vary depending on the lender and are most commonly fixed rates or adjustable rates, which can fluctuate.

Loan Term

This is the length of time to pay off your mortgage. Most common loan terms are 15 or 30 years. Other common loan terms are 5, 10 and 20 years. The longer the length of the loan term, the more interest you will pay.

Property Taxes

This is a tax assessed on real estate based on the home’s value. The property tax is collected by the government and will vary from state to state. Homeowners Insurance This is a type of insurance designed to provide damage protection to the home or to possessions in or on the property of the home. Homeowners insurance will also provide coverage against lawsuits against accidents that occur inside the home or on the property. Homeowners insurance is a requirement from mortgage lenders.

HOA Dues

HOA, known as homeowners association fees, are fees that are most commonly paid when you purchase real estate such as condominiums, townhomes or other types of property in a planned development. These fees cover the maintenance of the public areas and other items such as maintenance to the exterior of the building, lawn care, garbage collection, pool/hot tub maintenance, tennis courts or any other amenities located on the premises.