Mortgage WellMortgage Affordability Calculator
See an estimated price range you might be able to afford given your income, debts, down payment, and DTI comfort. Three tiers — conservative to stretch — with full assumptions disclosed.
Estimated affordable home price
$409,895.17/mo
Moderate tier · adjustable below
This is an educational range, not a pre-qualification or loan approval.
Affordability tiers
- The stretch estimate exceeds your 36.0% debt-to-income limitThe stretch estimate reaches about 39.0% debt-to-income, above the 36.0% limit you set. Lenders that apply a hard cap may not approve a loan at that price. Treat it as an upper bound to discuss with a lender, not a target.
Conservative
Moderate
Stretch
What moves this number
Every 0.5% on the rate
$13,445
less house you can afford
Every $10,000 saved
$8,199
more house you can afford
Every $100 a month of debt
$12,024
less house you can afford
Everything else stays as you entered it.
Show data table
| Interest rate | Max home price | Monthly payment | PMI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4.5% | $472,005 | $3,000 | yes |
| 4.8% | $463,458 | $3,000 | yes |
| 5.0% | $455,145 | $3,000 | yes |
| 5.3% | $447,061 | $3,000 | yes |
| 5.5% | $439,201 | $3,000 | yes |
| 5.8% | $431,559 | $3,000 | yes |
| 6.0% | $424,130 | $3,000 | yes |
| 6.3% | $416,910 | $3,000 | yes |
| 6.5% — you | $409,895 | $3,000 | yes |
| 6.8% | $403,076 | $3,000 | yes |
| 7.0% | $396,450 | $3,000 | yes |
| 7.2% | $390,012 | $3,000 | yes |
| 7.5% | $383,757 | $3,000 | yes |
| 7.8% | $377,680 | $3,000 | yes |
| 8.0% | $371,773 | $3,000 | yes |
| 8.3% | $366,034 | $3,000 | yes |
| 8.5% | $360,460 | $3,000 | yes |
$26,291 more saved gets you to 20% down — a $86,291 down payment against a $431,456 home. That is $21,560 more house than you can reach today, and no mortgage insurance. The target moves as you save, because 20% of a bigger house is a bigger deposit — this is the figure where the two meet.
Assumptions used
Assumption set 2026-09-07
- Gross monthly income
- $10,000user input
- Monthly debts
- $600user input
- Down payment
- $60,000user input
- Annual interest rate
- 6.50%user input
- Loan term
- 30 yearsuser input
- Back-end DTI cap
- 36.00%user input
- Property tax rate
- 1.25%user input2026-09-07
- Homeowners insurance rate
- 0.546%user input2026-09-07
- PMI rate
- 0.60%user input2026-09-07
- Monthly HOA
- $0user input
Affordability Estimate
Generated · Assumption set 2026-09-07
How this calculator works
Affordability is driven by your debt-to-income ratio (DTI): lenders compare your housing payment plus other debts against your gross income. We estimate the highest home price whose total monthly payment (including taxes, insurance, HOA, and PMI when applicable) stays under your chosen DTI cap.
Reviewed for calculation accuracy and clarity by the Mortgage Well Team ·
When to use this
- You're starting a home search and want a realistic price ceiling.
- You want to see how raising your down payment or paying down debts changes your range.
- You're stress-testing what happens if your DTI cap is more conservative than the lender allows.
Methodology
We solve for the maximum home price whose total PITI fits inside your back-end DTI cap. Because property taxes, insurance, and PMI scale with home price, we binary-search across price candidates and recompute the full payment for each.
back_end_DTI = (housing_payment + other_debts) / gross_monthly_income For each candidate home price: loan = price - down_payment PITI = P&I + tax(price) + insurance(price) + HOA + PMI(loan, price) accept if (PITI + other_debts) / income <= cap
Assumptions
- Gross monthly income before taxes and benefits.
- Property tax and homeowners insurance are estimated as a percent of home price (configurable).
- PMI applies whenever loan-to-value is over 80%.
- Front-end and back-end DTI are illustrative; actual lender ratios depend on credit, reserves, and loan program.
Example
A $10,000/month income with $600 of monthly debts and a 36% back-end DTI cap leaves about $3,000 for housing each month. After taxes, insurance, and PMI, that supports a home around $400,000 with a $60,000 down payment at 6.5%.
Frequently asked
- Is this a pre-approval?
- No. This is an educational estimate. A lender will evaluate your credit, employment, assets, and reserves before issuing a pre-approval or Loan Estimate.
- Why three tiers?
- Conservative leaves more cash flow for savings and emergencies. Moderate spends what your DTI cap allows. Stretch is what you might qualify for — not necessarily what's wise.
- Does the DTI cap include the new mortgage?
- Yes. Back-end DTI counts the new total housing payment plus your other monthly debts.
Sources and references
Helpful consumer references used to explain assumptions on this page. These are educational pointers, not regulatory endorsement.
- CFPB — debt-to-income ratio explainer — consumer overview of how DTI is computed and used in mortgage qualification
- Internal — DTI binary search across home prices — the engine solves for the highest price whose total PITI fits the chosen DTI cap
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Estimates only. This calculator is not a loan offer, loan approval, official Loan Estimate, Closing Disclosure, tax advice, legal advice, or financial advice. Actual payments, rates, taxes, insurance, mortgage insurance, closing costs, and loan terms may vary. Contact a qualified lender, tax professional, or financial advisor for guidance.