Last updated: August 22, 2026
Free Mortgage Affordability Calculator
This calculator provides a general estimate for educational purposes, not a mortgage pre-approval or personalized financial advice. See our full guide to how much house you can afford for the reasoning behind this calculation.
Enter your income, existing debt, and down payment to estimate a realistic home price range, based on the 28%/36% affordability guideline. This estimate covers principal and interest only — remember to budget separately for property tax, insurance, and maintenance, covered in the guide above.
| Max monthly housing payment (P&I): | $0 |
| Estimated max loan amount: | $0 |
| Estimated affordable home price: | $0 |
How to Use This Calculator
- Enter your annual gross (pre-tax) household income.
- Enter your other monthly debt payments — car loans, student loans, minimum credit card payments.
- Enter your planned down payment and expected interest rate and loan term.
- The calculator shows your maximum recommended monthly housing payment, the estimated maximum loan amount, and the resulting affordable home price range.
What This Calculator Doesn't Include
This estimate covers principal and interest only. Your actual monthly housing cost will also include property tax, homeowners insurance, and possibly HOA fees or mortgage insurance — all of which reduce how much you can put toward principal and interest within the same overall budget. See our full affordability guide for how to account for these additional costs realistically.
Why This Uses the Lower of Two Numbers
This calculator compares two guidelines — 28% of income for housing alone, and 36% of income for total debt including housing — and uses whichever is lower as your working limit. This is intentional: if your other debt payments are already significant, your realistic housing budget is more constrained than the 28% housing-only figure alone would suggest.
| Other Monthly Debt | Which Cap Applies | Max Housing Payment | Estimated Affordable Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| $400 | 28% housing cap (the lower number) | $1,983 | ~$338,785 |
| $1,200 | 36% total debt cap (the lower number) | $1,350 | ~$238,585 |
On the same $85,000 income, $25,000 down payment, and 6.5% rate, going from $400 to $1,200 in other monthly debt payments drops the affordable price estimate by roughly $100,000 — because at the higher debt level, the 36% total debt cap becomes the binding constraint instead of the 28% housing cap. This is exactly why paying down other debt before house hunting can meaningfully increase what you qualify for, sometimes more than saving a larger down payment would.
Down Payment Size and PMI
Putting down less than 20% on a conventional loan typically triggers private mortgage insurance (PMI), an added monthly cost that isn't reflected in this calculator's principal-and-interest-only estimate. PMI generally cancels automatically once you reach 20-22% equity in the home, but it's a real added cost in the meantime — worth factoring into your actual monthly budget even though it doesn't change the affordability math shown above.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is this the same as a mortgage pre-approval?
No — this is a general educational estimate based on standard affordability guidelines, not a formal pre-approval from a lender, which involves verifying your actual income, assets, and credit. Treat this as a starting planning number, not a guarantee of what you'd be approved for.
Why is my estimated affordable price lower than what a lender might approve me for?
Lenders often approve buyers for more than this conservative guideline suggests, since approval is based primarily on ability to repay, not on leaving comfortable room in your budget for savings and other goals. This calculator intentionally uses a more conservative standard — see our full affordability guide for why that gap exists and matters.
Does this calculator save my data?
No — it runs entirely in your browser, and the numbers you enter aren't sent to or stored on our servers.
Does a bigger down payment always increase what I can afford?
It increases the home price you can afford, but it doesn't change your maximum monthly payment, which is driven by income and existing debt. A larger down payment reduces the loan amount needed for a given price, which is why it raises the top end of your affordable range — see our guide to saving for a down payment fast for strategies to build that number up.
Should I pay down debt or save a bigger down payment first?
Run both scenarios through this calculator with your real numbers — as the table above shows, reducing other monthly debt can sometimes increase your affordable price range more than adding to your down payment would, especially if the 36% total debt cap, not the 28% housing cap, is currently your binding constraint.
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Where to Go Next
Related guides on ClearCents:
Use This as a Starting Point, Not a Ceiling
This calculator gives you a realistic planning number based on conservative guidelines — treat it as a starting budget for house hunting, not the maximum you should stretch to reach.
Ready for the full picture? Our complete affordability guide covers the reasoning and additional costs behind this estimate in depth.