True monthly housing cost
US$2,937
Mortgage, tax, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and inflation buffer combined.
Realistic Home Affordability Calculator
Model whether a home fits your life, not just loan approval.
Combine mortgage payments, ownership expenses, inflation, and income share to see a livable carrying cost for any home scenario.
Ownership assumptions
True annual housing cost
US$35,242
Mortgage share: US$23,191
Income impact
20.1% of income
Simple ratio to monitor pressure.
These numbers show the livable carrying cost by pairing the mortgage with steady ownership expenses and an inflation adjustment, rather than a minimum qualification figure.
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This tool does not provide financial or investment advice.
AI insight
Numeric affordability summary
Run the calculator, then use this button for a plain-language summary of mortgage and running costs.
This AI text describes numbers only and is not advice.
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This AI text describes numbers only and is not advice.
Rate stress views
Mortgage payment impact
Compare the mortgage payment if rates rose by one or two percentage points to see the budget swing.
Current rate
US$1,933 / month
Annual: US$23,191
Rate modeled: 5.00%
+1% rate
US$2,158 / month
Annual: US$25,901
Rate modeled: 6.00%
+2% rate
US$2,395 / month
Annual: US$28,741
Rate modeled: 7.00%
Breakdown
Annual ownership components
| Mortgage payments | US$23,191 |
| Property tax | US$4,500 |
| Home insurance | US$1,500 |
| Maintenance allowance | US$4,500 |
| HOA / service charge | US$1,200 |
| Inflation impact buffer | US$351 |
Visual breakdown
Ownership cost distribution
Bars scale to the highest category to show proportional weight in your annual housing cost.
Mortgage paymentsUS$23,191
Property taxUS$4,500
Home insuranceUS$1,500
Maintenance allowanceUS$4,500
HOA / service chargeUS$1,200
Inflation impact bufferUS$351
Scenarios
Scenario comparison
Capture different combinations of price, down payment, and carrying costs to compare livable affordability.
Save a scenario after running the calculator to build a comparison set.
Results explainer
You’ll see a monthly ownership cost that includes mortgage, taxes, insurance, HOA, and maintenance, plus an income share view and simple stress checks. The summary flags whether payments, taxes, or upkeep drive most of the affordability pressure.
Disclaimer
Estimates are illustrative and for educational purposes only. This tool does not provide financial, investment, tax, or legal advice. Results depend on your inputs and assumptions and may not reflect real-world mortgage costs, taxes, insurance, or lender criteria.
How it works
The calculator combines mortgage payments with ownership costs like taxes, insurance, HOA, and maintenance, then compares them to your income. Stress views nudge rates or costs to show how affordability might change.
Inputs used
- Property price, down payment, term, and rate
- Taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, utilities
- Income (and joint, if any) for affordability share
- Stress settings for rate/cost changes
- Saved scenarios you choose to compare
Core formulas
- Mortgage payment ≈ L × r / (1 − (1 + r)-n)
- Ownership cost = mortgage + taxes + insurance + HOA + maintenance
- Income share = ownership cost ÷ income
- Stress view: adjust rate/costs, recompute payment and share
Calculation steps
- Calculate loan amount and monthly payment from price, down payment, and term.
- Add taxes, insurance, HOA, maintenance, and utilities to get total monthly ownership cost.
- Compare that cost to income to show the affordability share.
- Apply stress settings (rate/cost changes) to see the stressed ownership cost.
- Show monthly and annual views for both base and stressed cases.
- Save scenarios to compare different prices, down payments, or stress settings.
Example scenario
Example: $480k home price, 15% down, 30-year term, 6% rate. Taxes $350/month, insurance $120, HOA $75, maintenance $200, utilities $180. Total ownership cost is about $3,380/month. With $8,000 income, the base share is around 42%. A 1% rate stress and 10% higher costs could lift ownership to roughly $3,800/month. Saving a second scenario with a larger down payment shows how the share and payment respond.
Interpretation notes
- Taxes, insurance, and HOA often push costs more than expected; check local figures.
- Bigger down payments and lower rates reduce both payment and income share.
- Stress settings highlight rate sensitivity—adjust them to match your risk view.
- Results are illustrative; lender terms, fees, and local taxes can differ.
- Scenarios help you see which levers move affordability most.
Limitations & assumptions
The calculator uses simplified cost and stress assumptions. It does not model every lender fee, city-specific taxes, or future PMI/LMI removal unless you adjust inputs. Inflation and rate stress are illustrative. Treat outputs as directional guides and confirm details with your lender and your own budget.
FAQs
Quick answers
What does this calculator estimate?
It estimates a livable home affordability picture by combining mortgage payments with taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and income share, plus simple stress views.
What is included or excluded?
Included: price, down payment, term, taxes, insurance, maintenance, HOA, and income share. Excluded: lender-specific fees, city surcharges, and future rate changes beyond the stress settings you add.
What assumptions are used?
Mortgage payments follow the standard amortization formula; ownership costs and inflation are applied as entered. Stress views are illustrative, not predictions.
Can I save or export scenarios?
Yes. Save scenarios on this device, compare them, and export summaries.
Is my data private?
Calculations run in your browser. Inputs stay on your device unless you export a file.
Is this financial advice?
No. Results are illustrative scenario views only and are not financial or investment advice.
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