In today's climate, the income required to purchase a $500,000 home varies greatly based on personal finances, down payment amount, and interest rate. However, assuming a market rate of 7% and a 10% down payment, your household income would need to be about $128,000 to afford a $500,000 home.
The salary to afford a 500K house ranges between $101,040 and $180,429, assuming a 30 year mortgage, a 7.48% interest rate, and down payment between zero and $15,000. We'll talk about ways to expand this range, but this is a good baseline for setting expectations and budgeting for buying a $500,000 house.
To afford a $500,000 house, you need to make a minimum of $91,008 a year — and probably more to make sure you're not house-poor and can afford day-to-day expenses, maintenance and other debt, like student loans or car payments. One good guideline to follow is not to spend more than 28 percent of your income on housing.
Estimated Monthly Payments on a $500K Mortgage
As noted above, your estimated monthly payment for a $500K mortgage will be $3,360.16, assuming a 30-year loan term and an interest rate of 7.1%. But this payment could range between $2,600 and $4,900 depending on your term and interest rate.
For example, at current mortgage rates, borrowers with an FHA loan and a 10% down payment would need to earn about $70,000 a year to afford a $400,000 house. Borrowers with a conventional loan and a 20% down payment would need a salary of $100,000 or more.
On a salary of $36,000 per year, you can afford a house priced around $100,000-$110,000 with a monthly payment of just over $1,000. This assumes you have no other debts you're paying off, but also that you haven't been able to save much for a down payment.
That monthly payment comes to $36,000 annually. Applying the 28/36 rule, which states that you shouldn't spend more than around a third of your income on housing, multiply $36,000 by three and you get $108,000. So to afford a $500K house you'd have to make at least $108,000 per year.
How much would a $600,000 mortgage cost per month? A monthly payment on a 600K mortgage at 7% APR would be $3,991.81. This is the amount of principal and interest and does not include the escrowed amounts.
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.
Your total monthly mortgage payment would be around $3,947 per month.
The salary needed to afford a 700k house will be based upon various factors including the mortgage program, property taxes, and current mortgage rates. A salary of approximately $150k per year is needed to afford a $700k home.
The usual rule of thumb is that your total debt payments should be less than 36% of your pre-tax annual income. That means if you have no other debt, and $140,000 in savings for a down payment, you'd need an annual income of $94,581 to buy that $700,000 house.
The 28/36 rule dictates that you spend no more than 28 percent of your gross monthly income on housing costs and no more than 36 percent on all of your debt combined, including those housing costs.
A mortgage on 200k salary, using the 2.5 rule, means you could afford $500,000 ($200,00 x 2.5). With a 4.5 percent interest rate and a 30-year term, your monthly payment would be $2533 and you'd pay $912,034 over the life of the mortgage due to interest.
A common housing-affordability rule of thumb recommends that you avoid spending more than about a third of your income on housing. So, triple that $44,400 to estimate the annual income you'll need to comfortably afford a $600,000 purchase: $133,200.
Based on that figure, an annual income of $500,000 or more would make you rich. The Economic Policy Institute uses a different baseline to determine who constitutes the top 1% and the top 5%. For 2021, you're in the top 1% if you earn $819,324 or more each year. The top 5% of income earners make $335,891 per year.
With home prices just over $100,000, plus affordable property taxes and homeowner's insurance, you may be able to purchase a home making well under $40,000 per year.
You can generally afford a home for between $180,000 and $250,000 (perhaps nearly $300,000) on a $50K salary. But your specific home buying budget will depend on your credit score, debt-to-income ratio, and down payment size.
If you make $70K a year, you can likely afford a home between $290,000 and $310,000*. Depending on your personal finances, that's a monthly house payment between $2,000 and $2,500. Keep in mind that figure will include your monthly mortgage payment, taxes, and insurance.
The general guideline is that a mortgage should be two to 2.5 times your annual salary. A $60,000 salary equates to a mortgage between $120,000 and $150,000.
The monthly income rule
“You want to make sure that your monthly mortgage is no more than 28% of your gross monthly income,” says Reyes. So if you bring home $5,000 per month (before taxes), your monthly mortgage payment should be no more than $1,400.
Reams of hard data back up these casual observations: The MIT Living Wage Calculator finds that an L.A. County family of four with two working parents needs to earn at least $125,411 — before taxes — to support the household at a basic standard of living.
$100,000 a year is how much an hour? If you make $100,000 a year, your hourly salary would be $48.08.
A $100,000 salary is considered good in most parts of the country, and can cover typical expenses, pay down debt, build savings, and allow for entertainment and hobbies.