How much house can I afford?

How this calculator works

The price is the highest one where your monthly payment stays within the level you pick and your savings cover closing costs plus the minimum down payment. Everything you've saved goes into the home.

The monthly payment is a 30-year fixed loan at the latest weekly average rate of 6.76% for an exceptional credit score (lenders charge about 0.20% more at 720 and 0.42% more at 660), plus property tax at 1.140% of the price a year, homeowners insurance estimated at 0.40% a year, and mortgage insurance at about 0.98% of the loan a year when you put down less than 20%.

Closing costs come out of your savings first, about 0.74% of the price. Conventional loans start at 5% down. A loan above $1,249,125 is a jumbo loan and usually needs 10% down, so the calculator lets you put down enough to stay under that limit when it costs less.

Taxes on your pay assume a W-2 employee filing single in California with the standard deduction: federal and state income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state disability insurance. Couples filing together usually pay less. Lenders judge your debts against pay before taxes, so taxes only change what's left to live on.

Approval is never guaranteed. Jumbo lenders often stop sooner than the lender limit.

See current home prices, rents, and mortgage rates in the Santa Cruz County real estate statistics.