The 28% rule states that you should spend 28% or less of your monthly gross income on your mortgage payment (e.g. principal, interest, taxes and insurance). To determine how much you can afford using this rule, multiply your monthly gross income by 28%.
For many buyers, a good guideline is to look for a home that is about 3 to 5 times your household annual income. If you have no other debt you may be able to look at the top of that range, while if you have significant debt you might consider the lower part of that range.
The general rule is that you can afford a mortgage that is 2x to 2.5x your gross income. Total monthly mortgage payments are typically made up of four components: principal, interest, taxes, and insurance (collectively known as PITI).
The most common rule of thumb to determine how much you can afford to spend on housing is that it should be no more than 30% of your gross monthly income, which is your total income before taxes or other deductions are taken out. For renters, that 30% includes rent and utility costs like heat, water and electricity.
A Critical Number For Homebuyers
One way to decide how much of your income should go toward your mortgage is to use the 28/36 rule. According to this rule, your mortgage payment shouldn't be more than 28% of your monthly pre-tax income and 36% of your total debt. This is also known as the debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.
Senator Elizabeth Warren popularized the so-called "50/20/30 budget rule" (sometimes labeled "50-30-20") in her book, All Your Worth: The Ultimate Lifetime Money Plan. The basic rule is to divide up after-tax income and allocate it to spend: 50% on needs, 30% on wants, and socking away 20% to savings.
"House poor" is a term used to describe a person who spends a large proportion of his or her total income on homeownership, including mortgage payments, property taxes, maintenance, and utilities.
I make $90,000 a year. How much house can I afford? You can afford a $270,000 house.
According to Brown, you should spend between 28% to 36% of your take-home income on your housing payment. If you make $70,000 a year, your monthly take-home pay, including tax deductions, will be approximately $4,530.
For homes in the $800,000 range, which is in the medium-high range for most housing markets, DollarTimes's calculator recommends buyers bring in $119,371 before tax, assuming a 30-year loan with a 3.25% interest rate.
Whilst the typical borrower can expect to be offered between 4 and 4.5 times their salary, it's possible to find lenders willing to offer more than that.
Is a mortgage always based on 3 times your salary? No, not at all. Some will use 3 times a salary as a benchmarking tool, but others use different salary and income multiples. In fact, the majority will work off 4 or 4.5 times annual income while some will go as high as 5 times or even 6 times salary.
Multiply Your Annual Income by 2.5 or 3
Simply take your gross income and multiply it by 2.5 or 3 to get the maximum value of the home you can afford. For somebody making $100,000 a year, the maximum purchase price on a new home should be somewhere between $250,000 and $300,000.
4-4.5 times your salary is the average income multiple used by most high street lenders, so is often quoted as the amount you can expect to borrow. It's only an average though, and it is possible to secure a mortgage for 5 times or even 6 times your annual salary, depending on your circumstances and on the lender.
When attempting to determine how much mortgage you can afford, a general guideline is to multiply your income by at least 2.5 or 3 to get an idea of the maximum housing price you can afford. If you earn approximately $100,000, the maximum price you would be able to afford would be roughly $300,000.
The Income Needed To Qualify for A $500k Mortgage
A good rule of thumb is that the maximum cost of your house should be no more than 2.5 to 3 times your total annual income. This means that if you wanted to purchase a $500K home or qualify for a $500K mortgage, your minimum salary should fall between $165K and $200K.
Depending on the size of your family, $80,000 can comfortably cover living expenses and beyond. According to the U.S census as of 2020, the median salary for a four-person household is $68,400 per year, making 80K a substantially higher income than that of the average American.
What income is required for a 400k mortgage? To afford a $400,000 house, borrowers need $55,600 in cash to put 10 percent down. With a 30-year mortgage, your monthly income should be at least $8200 and your monthly payments on existing debt should not exceed $981. (This is an estimated example.)
If you have a 20% down payment on a $100,000 household salary, you can probably comfortably afford a $560,000 condo. this number assumes you have very little debt and $112,000 in the bank.
You can afford a $255,000 house.
I make $95,000 a year. How much house can I afford? You can afford a $285,000 house.
How much house can I afford on a 120k salary? Keeping the 28/36 rule in mind, a prospective homeowner with a $120,000 income may be able to afford a $1 million home on a 30-year fixed mortgage. That is to say, they could spend up to $33,600 per year on a mortgage.
Many people believe that closing broke is part of the “price” that you have to pay for buying a home, particularly the first time. However, being broke is a situation you should avoid at all costs, and you usually can.
The usual rule of thumb is that you can afford a mortgage two to 2.5 times your annual income. That's a $120,000 to $150,000 mortgage at $60,000. You also have to be able to afford the monthly mortgage payments, however.