To calculate 'how much house can I afford,' a good rule of thumb is using the 28%/36% rule, which states that you shouldn't spend more than 28% of your gross monthly income on home-related costs and 36% on total debts, including your mortgage, credit cards and other loans like auto and student loans.
The 28/36 rule stipulates that in order for a home to be considered within your budget, your housing expenses (such as mortgage payments, taxes and insurance payments) shouldn't exceed 28% of your gross monthly income.
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.
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.
How Long Will It Take to Save for a House? Saving 20% of your income could catapult you into purchasing a home in the next one to three years, depending on your market. For example, if you're earning $96,000 per year, that's $19,200 saved after one year. It's $38,400 after two years and $57,600 after three.
While buyers may still need to pay down debt, save up cash and qualify for a mortgage, the bottom line is that buying a home on a middle-class salary is still possible — in some places. Below, check out 15 cities where you can become a homeowner while earning $40,000 a year or less.
To purchase a $300K house, you may need to make between $50,000 and $74,500 a year. This is a rule of thumb, and the specific salary will vary depending on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, the type of home loan, loan term, and mortgage rate.
Expect to need at least $100K of income for a $1M home
But if your finances aren't quite as strong, you might need an income upwards of $225K per year to buy that million-dollar home.
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.)
That means you should be making between $70,000 and $90,000 per month to afford the payments safely. This translates to an annual income of $840,000 to $1,080,000. That's the bare minimum lenders will accept, assuming that you can make the full down payment and have stellar credit and financial history.
On a $70,000 income, you'll likely be able to afford a home that costs $280,000–380,000. The exact amount will depend on how much debt you have and where you live — as well as the type of home loan you get.
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.
If you make $100,000 per year, your hourly salary would be $51.28. This result is obtained by multiplying your base salary by the amount of hours, week, and months you work in a year, assuming you work 37.5 hours a week.
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.
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.
If you make $36,000 per year, you'll likely be able to afford a home that costs between $144,000 and $195,000. The exact amount you'll be able to afford will depend on your debts, credit score, location, down payment, and other variables.
You need to make $129,511 a year to afford a 350k mortgage. We base the income you need on a 350k mortgage on a payment that is 24% of your monthly income. In your case, your monthly income should be about $10,793. The monthly payment on a 350k mortgage is $2,590.
Assuming the best-case scenario — you have no debt, a good credit score, $90,000 to put down and you're able to secure a low 3.12% interest rate — your monthly payment for a $450,000 home would be $1,903. That means your annual salary would need to be $70,000 before taxes.
Generally speaking, building up is cheaper than building a sprawling one-story home, so you may want to consider planning for a multiple-story home if you need more space.
How much do I need to make for a $900,000 house? A $900,000 home, with a 5% interest rate for 30 years and $45,000 (5%) down requires an annual income of $218,403.
Conventional Loan Requirements
It's recommended you have a credit score of 620 or higher when you apply for a conventional loan. If your score is below 620, lenders either won't be able to approve your loan or may be required to offer you a higher interest rate, which can result in higher monthly payments.
The scoring model used in mortgage applications
While the FICO® 8 model is the most widely used scoring model for general lending decisions, banks use the following FICO scores when you apply for a mortgage: FICO® Score 2 (Experian) FICO® Score 5 (Equifax)