Can you afford a new house?

Dreaming of better digs? According to the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC), there are two main factors to consider before making that dream a reality: your income, and the amount you already owe for other loans and payments. Use our housing budget calculator to figure out the maximum amount you can spend on housing – you may be able to live larger than you think.

Our calculator tells you if your dream is feasible, but, as Andy Hammond, CMHC manager of business development says, it's only a first step. Other factors influence what you can purchase, such as the size of your down payment and current mortgage rates. And of course, you still have to cover your living expenses. "It's important to do a cash flow exercise, where you sit down with your family and decide what kind of lifestyle you want to have," says Hammond.

function validNumber(f){ var checkstr = "0123456789."; err=0; c=0; for(x=0;x<(f.length-1);x++){ fieldName = f[x].name; fieldVal = eval("f."+fieldName+".value"); if(fieldVal!=""){ for (i = 0; i = 0) c++; if (c>1) {err=1;break;} if (checkstr.indexOf(fieldVal.substr(i,1)) < 0) {err=1;break;} } } if(err) break; c=0; } if(err){ alert(fieldName + ' can contain only a valid currency.'); eval("f."+fieldName+".focus()"); return false; } calculate(f); return false; } function calculate(f){ income = ((f[0].value-0) + (f[1].value-0) + (f[2].value-0)) * .4; expenses = ((f[3].value-0) + (f[4].value-0) + (f[5].value-0) + (f[6].value-0)); totalVal = (Math.round((income - expenses)*100)/100)+""; dollars = (totalVal.indexOf('.')!=-1)?totalVal.substring(0,totalVal.indexOf('.')):totalVal; cents = (totalVal.indexOf('.')!=-1)?totalVal.substring(totalVal.indexOf('.')+1,totalVal.length):"00"; if(cents.length<2) cents+='0'; c=''; for(x=0;x0&&x=0;x--){ d+=c.charAt(x); } if(document.all) document.all("totalHBCAmount").innerHTML = "Your total budget is $"+d+"."+cents; else alert("Your total budget is $"+d+"."+cents); } function checkHBCField(f){ fieldVal=f.value; c=''; if(fieldVal=='') c="0.00"; else { for (i = 0; i < fieldVal.length; i++) { if(fieldVal.charAt(i) != ',') c+=fieldVal.charAt(i) } } f.value=c; }

Housing Budget Calculator Enter your gross monthly salary $ Enter your spouse's gross monthly salary $ Enter any other income $ Enter your monthly car payments $ Enter your monthly loan payments $ Enter your credit card/line of credit payments $ Enter your average bill payments $