Enter your income, monthly debts, and down payment to find your real price range before shopping. Gross income shows common lender rules; take-home income shows a conservative personal budget rule.
Gross mode compares common lender rules.
Standard Rule Max Home Price
$230,430.60
28/36 rule estimate
28/36 Rule
Standard lender affordability check.
3x Income Rule
Fast estimate before debt checks.
43% DTI Rule
Upper lender limit with less cushion.
This calculator estimates your realistic home price range from your income, monthly debts, and down payment. With gross income it applies the 28/36 rule that many lenders use: your housing payment should stay under about 28% of gross monthly income, and all debt payments combined (housing plus car loans, student loans, credit card minimums) under about 36%. It then works backward from that maximum payment — using your interest rate, term, and down payment — to a price.
With take-home income, the calculator applies a more conservative personal-budget rule instead, because the lender-style limits are calculated before taxes and can approve payments that feel suffocating in real life. Running both views is the point: the gap between "what a lender might approve" and "what leaves room to live" is often tens of thousands of dollars of house.
Remember that the mortgage payment is not the whole cost of owning. Property taxes, homeowners insurance, possible PMI (typically required below 20% down), HOA dues, and maintenance add hundreds per month. Buying below your maximum approval is the single most reliable way to keep a home from becoming a source of stress.
A lending guideline: spend no more than 28% of gross monthly income on housing, and no more than 36% on all debt payments combined. Lenders use ratios like these to size the mortgage they will approve.
You do not need 20%. Conventional loans can go as low as 3% down and FHA loans 3.5%, though below 20% you will usually pay private mortgage insurance (PMI). A larger down payment lowers your monthly payment and total interest.
Lenders look at your debt-to-income ratio across everything you owe monthly — car loans, student loans, credit card minimums. Each $100 of existing monthly debt payments reduces the mortgage payment you qualify for by roughly the same amount, which can cut your price range by $15,000–$20,000.
Usually not. Approval is based on gross income and ignores your actual life — childcare, savings goals, commuting, hobbies. Many comfortable homeowners buy 10–20% below their maximum approval to keep breathing room for everything else.