To comfortably afford an $800,000 house, you'll likely need an annual income between $220,000 to $260,000, depending on your specific financial situation and the terms of your mortgage. Remember, just because you can qualify for a loan doesn't mean you should stretch your budget to the maximum.
To start, here's what an $800,000 mortgage would cost at today's average rates, assuming the conventional 20% down payment ($160,000) for principal and interest only: 15-year mortgage at 5.78%: $5,324.91 per month. 30-year mortgage at 6.41%: $4,007.43 per month.
An income of around $260,000 a year could allow you to afford a $900,000 mortgage, assuming you don't have other significant debt, such as student loans. But a variety of factors determine how much house you can afford, including how much you have saved for a down payment and your credit history, to name two.
If we assume about about a third of your income is dedicated to housing costs, multiply that $57,600 figure by three to approximate the minimum income you'd need to earn to afford a $750K house: $172,800. (Note that this number does not factor in the upfront funds required for a down payment and closing costs.)
To afford a $700,000 house, you typically need an annual income between $175,000 to $235,000, depending on your financial situation, down payment, credit score, and current market conditions. However, this is a general range, and your specific circumstances will determine the exact income required.
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.
Ideally, you should make $208,000 or more a year to comfortably manage an $800,000 home purchase, based on the commonly used 28 percent rule (which states that you shouldn't spend more than 28 percent of your income on housing).
Most lenders set a 620 minimum benchmark for you to buy a house, though that's not necessarily a “good” score to buy a house. There's a few reasons the minimum score isn't good for buying a house: The lower your credit score, the higher your payment. The higher your payment, the higher your debt-to-income (DTI) ratio.
According to the 28/36 rule, you should spend no more than 28% of your gross monthly income on housing and no more than 36% on all debts. Housing costs can include: Your monthly mortgage payment. Homeowners Insurance. Private mortgage insurance.
The Importance of Interest Rates
When rates are low, you can afford more home. When rates climb, not so much. For example, with a 4% mortgage interest rate, your $2,000 payment could get you a home loan for around $335,000. But if that rate jumps to 6%, the same payment might only stretch to about $270,000.
To afford a $600,000 house, you typically need to know how much income is required, which generally falls between $150,000 to $200,000 annually, depending on your financial situation, down payment, credit score, and current market conditions.
According to the 28/36 rule, it's best not to spend more than 28 percent of your income on housing costs. So, with a $200,000 annual income, it's ideal not to exceed $56,000, or $4,666 per month, on your mortgage payment and associated housing costs.
Monthly payments on a $700,000 mortgage
At a 7.00% fixed interest rate, your monthly mortgage payment on a 30-year $700,000 mortgage might total $4,657 a month, while a 15-year might cost $6,292 a month.
What is the highest credit score possible? To start off: No, it's not possible to have a 900 credit score in the United States. In some countries that use other models, like Canada, people could have a score of 900. The current scoring models in the U.S. have a maximum of 850.
Experts often advise that you spend no more than approximately one-third of your income on housing costs. That means you can triple $64,800 to get a clearer picture of what the annual income requirements would be in order to comfortably afford a $900,000 home: approximately $194,400, at a bare minimum.
If you're in the market for a $1 million home, you're likely wondering how much you need to save for the down payment. Financial advisors often recommend a 20% down payment. Therefore, to purchase a home worth a million dollars, you'd generally need a hefty $200,000 for the down payment.
Lenders often use the 28/36 rule as a sign of a healthy DTI—meaning you won't spend more than 28% of your gross monthly income on mortgage payments and no more than 36% of your income on total debt payments (including a mortgage, student loans, car loans and credit card debt).
With $2,000 per month to spend on your mortgage payment, you are likely to qualify for a home with a purchase price between $250,000 to $300,000, said Matt Ward, a real estate agent in Nashville. Ward also points out that other financial factors will impact your home purchase budget.
The Bottom Line. On a $70,000 salary using a 50% DTI, you could potentially afford a house worth between $200,000 to $250,000, depending on your specific financial situation.
If you're in the market for a $700k home, you can expect monthly payments of approximately $5,615. Based on our standard assumptions, this would require an income of at least $15,597 per month – $187,164 annually. Based on the minimum required income of $15,597, you could have total debt obligations as high as $7,019.
If you want to have a minimalist lifestyle, 36k/year is more then enough. If you want a home, family, car, insurance and some "toys", it's not going to be enough, at least in a majority of places in the U.S. But again, the term "decent" is pretty objective. Can you be content? Depends on your expectations.
A loan is considered jumbo if it exceeds the maximum loan limits for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac conforming loans—currently $766,550 for single-family homes in most parts of the U.S. but up to $1,149,825 in certain more expensive areas.