Home Affordability Calculator — How Much House Can I Afford?

How much house can I afford?

This home affordability calculator turns your income, debts and savings into the highest home price you can sensibly take on. Pick India to work the way Indian banks and housing finance companies do — FOIR on net take-home pay, the RBI loan-to-value limits and stamp duty on top — or US for the familiar 28/36 rule on gross income with property tax, insurance, HOA dues and PMI built into the monthly payment.

It answers “how much house can I afford based on salary” and, if you already know what you want to pay each month, “based on monthly payment”: enter that EMI or housing budget and the limits step aside. Everything runs in your browser. Results are estimates from rules of thumb and the figures you enter, not a loan decision or financial advice.

How to use the Home Affordability Calculator

1. Choose India (₹, net income) or US ($, gross income).
2. Enter income, any co-applicant and the debt payments you already make.
3. Set the limit — the lender’s FOIR, or the front-end and back-end ratios — or type the monthly payment you want instead.
4. Enter the rate and tenure, your savings or down payment, and the costs: stamp duty and registration in India; property tax, insurance, HOA and PMI in the US.
5. Read the home price, loan, payment and the table, then copy the result.

Home Affordability Calculator features

How the India calculation works

The largest EMI is net income × FOIR − existing EMIs; the loan it repays comes from the EMI formula run backwards. The loan must also stay within RBI’s bands for individual housing loans — 90% of the value up to ₹30 lakh, 80% up to ₹75 lakh, 75% above — and your savings must pay the rest of the agreement value plus stamp duty and registration, which banks do not finance.

Example: ₹1,00,000 net a month at a 50% FOIR gives a ₹50,000 EMI, which repays ₹57,61,542 over 20 years at 8.5%. With ₹20 lakh of savings and 7% stamp duty and registration, the price is ₹72,53,778: ₹14,92,236 down and ₹5,07,764 of duty. With only ₹10 lakh saved, the 90% band limits the loan to ₹30 lakh and the price to ₹37,38,318 — savings, not salary, are then the limit.

How the US calculation works: the 28/36 rule

Lenders compare housing costs with gross monthly income. Under the 28/36 rule of thumb, housing — principal, interest, property tax, insurance, HOA dues and mortgage insurance — stays under 28%, and all debts under 36%. The budget is the lower of the two; the price is solved so the full payment fits it.

Example: $100,000 a year is $8,333 a month: 28% is $2,333 and 36% less $500 of other debts is $2,500, so the budget is $2,333. With $60,000 down at 6.5% for 30 years, 1.1% property tax, $1,500 a year of insurance and 0.5% PMI (down is under 20%), the home price is about $341,334. Fannie Mae allows a 36% back-end ratio for manual underwriting, up to 45% with strong credit and reserves, and 50% through Desktop Underwriter (Selling Guide B3-6-02, 2 April 2025); the table shows what each would allow.

What the result leaves out

• Closing costs, moving, furnishing and an emergency fund — keep cash aside; see the closing cost calculator.
• Each lender’s own FOIR, credit-score, age and property rules; the maximum is not a recommendation.
• Rate rises on floating loans. Test them in the home loan calculator or the mortgage calculator.
• UK, Australian and other lenders use their own affordability tests and income multiples.