How much house can I afford on my salary?

A common starting point is two and a half to three times your gross annual income, but that ignores your debts, down payment, and current rates. A better approach is to keep your total housing payment near 28% of gross monthly income and total debts under 43%.

Does the affordability calculator include property taxes and insurance?

Yes. Your monthly housing cost includes principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and mortgage insurance if your down payment is under 20%. HOA dues should be added if the home has them.

How does my credit score affect affordability?

A higher score usually means a lower interest rate, and a lower rate means more house for the same monthly payment. The difference between a 640 and a 760 score can be tens of thousands of dollars in buying power.

What is the 28/36 rule?

It's a guideline lenders have used for decades: spend no more than 28% of gross monthly income on housing, and no more than 36% on housing plus all other debts. Many loan programs now allow higher ratios, but 28/36 is still a good definition of "comfortable."

Why is my pre-approval amount higher than what I'm comfortable with?

Because a lender's job is to tell you the most they'll lend, not what's wise. Pre-approval amounts often sit at the stretch end of the range. You're never obligated to borrow the full amount.

Should I include a bonus or side income?

Only if it's consistent and documented. Lenders typically want two years of history for bonus, commission, or self-employment income before counting it.

Home Affordability Calculator

How much house can you actually afford?

There are two answers to this question. One is what a lender will approve. The other is what you'll be comfortable paying every month for the next several years while still living your life. This calculator shows you both. Enter your income, monthly debts, and down payment, and you'll have a price range in under a minute.

Home Affordability Calculator | Yellow

Your finances

Gross monthly income

Before taxes — combine both incomes if you're buying with someone else.

Monthly debt payments

Car loans, student loans, credit card minimums, other loans. For the fuller picture, try the DTI calculator.

Down payment

Not sure what's realistic? See the down payment calculator.

Rate assumption

Estimated interest rate

Defaults to an approximation of current averages — adjust if you have a different estimate.

Your price range

Comfortable

Stretch ceiling

Enter your info to see your range.

At the comfortable price

Principal & interest$0

Taxes & insurance (est.)$0

Mortgage insurance (est.)$0

Total monthly payment$0

Why two numbers? "Comfortable" keeps your housing payment under about 28% of income and total debt under 36% — a conservative starting point. "Stretch ceiling" reflects the higher end many lenders allow (up to 31%/43%). Comfortable leaves more room in your monthly budget; stretch shows what's technically possible. For a rate tailored to your actual credit range, try the pre-approval estimator.

Start your pre-approval

These figures are planning estimates, not a loan offer or lending decision. They assume a 30-year fixed loan, combined property tax and insurance of about 1.4% of the home price per year, and mortgage insurance of about 0.6% per year on loans with less than 20% down — all rough assumptions that vary by location and lender. Actual guidelines vary by loan program. See the full affordability guide for how these numbers work.

How to read your result

The calculator gives you a home price range built from three inputs.

‍Your income sets the ceiling. Lenders generally want your total monthly debt, including the new mortgage, to stay under about 43% of your gross monthly income. Some programs go higher.
‍Your existing debts lower that ceiling. Every $100 in monthly payments elsewhere is roughly $100 less you can put toward a house payment.
‍Your down payment shifts the whole range up. More cash in means a smaller loan for the same price, or a higher price for the same loan.

The result is usually shown as a comfortable range and a stretch range. The comfortable number assumes your housing cost stays near 28% of gross income. The stretch number pushes toward the lender's maximum. Both are real options. The comfortable one leaves room for the things a spreadsheet doesn't show: a new roof, a job change, a kid.

What "afford" really means

A lender approves you based on math. You live in the house based on everything else. Before you settle on a number, ask:

Will the monthly payment still feel fine after utilities, maintenance (budget about 1% of the home's value per year), and HOA dues?
Do you have three to six months of expenses saved after closing?
Is your income stable enough to carry this payment through a rough year?

If the answer to any of those is a hesitant "probably," the comfortable range is your number.

A quick example

Household gross income: $110,000 per year, or about $9,167 per month. Monthly debts: $600. Down payment saved: $40,000.
At a 28% front-end target, your comfortable housing payment is around $2,570. At a 43% back-end limit minus your $600 in other debts, the stretch payment is closer to $3,340.
With today's typical rates, taxes, and insurance, that puts your comfortable price somewhere around $360,000 to $380,000, and your stretch price closer to $450,000. The calculator does this math with your actual inputs and a current rate estimate.

What to do with your number

Take a price from your range to the Mortgage Payment Calculator and see the full monthly breakdown.
If your debts are holding the number down, the Debt-to-Income Calculator shows exactly which payments to clear first.
Want a lender's version of this answer, based on your actual credit range? Use the Pre-Approval Estimator.

How much house can you actually afford?

How to read your result

Frequently asked questions

Let's get you home.

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