How Much House Could You Afford?
Answer a few quick questions about your income, debts, down payment, and savings — we'll estimate a realistic price range.
How we estimate this
We start from your gross monthly income and subtract your existing monthly debts (credit cards, car payment, student loans) to find how much of your income is left for a house payment, capped at a debt-to-income ratio. Fannie Mae's own automated underwriting guidance allows a debt-to-income ratio as high as roughly 45-50% with strong compensating factors, versus a more conservative ~36% baseline for a thinner financial cushion — see Fannie Mae's Selling Guide, B3-6. We show you a range: the lower end assumes a conservative 36% ratio, and the higher end only appears if your reserves and down payment look strong enough (by a simplified rule of thumb — real underwriting also weighs credit history, employment, and more) to plausibly support a higher ratio.
From that monthly housing budget, we estimate a home price using the current average 30-year fixed mortgage rate (or a clearly-labeled fallback rate if that's temporarily unavailable) and a simplified, illustrative estimate for property taxes and homeowners insurance — real costs vary a lot by location.
This is a rough, informal estimate to help you get oriented — not a pre-approval, a loan offer, or a promise from any lender. Your actual buying power depends on your credit history, the specific lender, and a full underwriting review.