AbodeWave
Home affordability reference

How much house can you actually afford?

Plain answers on affordability, down payments and closing costs, so you buy on numbers instead of headlines. Every figure here is illustrative, and every market read shows its arithmetic.

Start with: The affordability math · The 28/36 rule · Affordability calculator · All market reads

Illustration of a city housing skyline

Read any market in three signals

  • InventoryMore homes for sale hands leverage back to buyers.
  • Days on marketThe longer listings sit, the sooner sellers negotiate.
  • Price cutsRising reductions are the clearest sign of a cooling market.

Affordability calculator

Change the four inputs and the payment updates. Open "How we got this" to see every step of the arithmetic.
Est. monthly payment$3,756Illustrative estimate including taxes & insurance. Not a loan quote.
What is in a payment

Rates, property taxes and insurance vary by lender and by county, so the calculator uses illustrative placeholders rather than a live rate feed. Check current figures with your lender and your county assessor before you rely on a number.

New to the numbers? Start here

The guides to read first

All guides →
01Affordability read

How Much House Can You Afford? The Real Affordability Math

How much house you can afford is about the monthly payment your budget sustains, not the price a lender approves. This market read prices what it holds.

02Affordability read

Is a 10% Down Payment Enough? The 20% Myth

This market read answers is a 10 percent down payment enough: real minimums by loan type, true PMI costs, and the waiting-cost math that actually decides.

03Affordability read

How Much Cash Do You Need to Buy a House?

This market read answers how much cash do you need to buy a house, summing the down payment, closing costs, reserves, and moving into one step-by-step figure.

04Affordability read

How Much Are Closing Costs for a Buyer? Line by Line

This market read itemizes closing costs for a buyer: the 2 to 5 percent range, the three fee buckets, what a $300k purchase runs, and how to lower them.

05Affordability read

Closing Costs vs Down Payment: Are They Included?

Closing costs are not included in the down payment. A market read on why they are separate from it, whether closing costs go toward it, and when you pay both.

06Buying process

How to Buy Your First Home: 8 Steps for First-Time Buyers

This market note walks the steps to buying a house for the first time, from checking credit to closing day, with the whole cash need beyond the down payment.

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Buying process24 guidesAffordability read18 guidesFinancing read9 guidesBuying walkthrough2 guidesOwning a home1 guide
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Latest market reads

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Two hands shaking above a wooden desk, with a small white model house resting on a stack of papers beside a pen, a blurred window and a potted plant in the backgroundNewest read
Financing read

FHA-Approved Lenders Explained: What the Label Actually Means

A market read on FHA-approved lenders: what the label means, how to verify one, and why overlays, lender type, and direct endorsement still change your terms.

25 min read
A card embossed with the words Mortgage Rate resting on a wooden desk beside a lined spreadsheet page and a calculatorAffordability read

How Much Mortgage Can I Qualify For? The Lender Math

How much mortgage you qualify for is a debt-to-income calculation your lender runs, not the comfortable budget you should spend. This market read prices it.

24 min read
A covered front porch with a wooden six-panel door, a rocking chair, and potted plantsFinancing read

Rent to Own Homes: How the Contract Actually Works

This market read opens the rent to own homes contract: the option fee, how rent credit accrues, who pays repairs, the fixed price, and what a walk-away costs.

28 min read
A blank kraft-paper price tag on a string hanging beside a small wooden house model and a stack of coins on a pale surfaceBuying process

Appraisal Came in Low? How to Negotiate With the Seller

This market read covers how to negotiate with the seller after a low appraisal: renegotiate, cover the gap in cash, split it, or request a reconsideration.

30 min read
Cardboard moving boxes stacked in a corner of an otherwise empty room with a rolled rug on the wood floor and sunlight coming through two windowsBuying process

Final Walk-Through Checklist: 12 Things to Check

This market note is a final walk-through checklist: 12 things to check in the last day before closing, what each one proves, and the leverage you have left.

34 min read
A blank spiral bound desk calendar standing beside six stacks of gold coins rising from left to right and two keys on a metal ring, all on a wooden surfaceBuying process

How Long Does It Take to Buy a House? Offer to Keys

This market note times a purchase end to end: preparation, searching, and the contract stages that actually slip, from the appraisal queue to title work.

29 min read
Two people at a kitchen table reading through printed paperwork together with a calculator and mugs beside themAffordability read

First-Time Home Buyer Programs and Down Payment Help

This market read maps first time home buyer programs by mechanism, from grants and forgivable seconds to deferred loans, agency programs and tax credits.

32 min read
Two people sitting side by side at a wooden kitchen table, each holding a printed page and reading it together, with more papers, a calculator and two mugs spread out in front of themBuying process

Buying a House With Family or Friends

This market read prices a co-purchase with family or friends: how title gets held, why each borrower owes the whole payment, and the clauses that save it.

41 min read
A kitchen with light wood cabinets, a white counter island with two upholstered stools, a stainless steel refrigerator, and a window above the sink, opening onto a dining area beyondBuying walkthrough

How to Buy a Condo: What Differs

This walkthrough runs a condo purchase step by step: what the dues really cost you, reading the reserve study, warrantability, insurance gaps, and resale.

34 min read

Get a home-buying cost breakdown by email

Tell us what you are looking for and we will email you a breakdown of what that price range costs to buy and to carry: payment, closing costs, and the monthly reality. We are not a lender, a brokerage or an agent, we cannot pre-approve anyone, and we will not pass your details on.

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About AbodeWave

Housing math, shown plainly

A house is the biggest number in most budgets. We treat it that way.

AbodeWave explains how home-buying arithmetic works: what goes into a monthly payment, how a down payment changes the loan, where closing costs come from, and which rules of thumb hold up. We do not run a housing dataset or a rate feed. Every figure and calculator result here is illustrative and rounded to show the mechanism, not a quote, an appraisal, or a prediction about your own numbers.

Amounts that change by county and by lender, such as loan limits, mortgage insurance, tax rates and current interest rates, are described rather than asserted, with a pointer to the body that publishes them. We are writers and editors, not your lender, agent, appraiser, or financial adviser. Confirm current figures and talk to a licensed professional before you decide.

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