Home Affordability

Can you afford a home in 2026?

The 28/36 rule, run on your real numbers

Your numbers

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Your result
Comfortable home budget
₹0
Enter your income to begin.
Safe EMI (28%)
₹0
Loan: ₹0
Absolute ceiling (36%)
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House-poor zone. Only with no other debt.

Are you actually ready? (the part banks won’t check)

The 28/36 rule. Spend no more than 28% of your gross income on the home loan EMI, and no more than 36% on all your EMIs put together, home loan included. Other EMIs eat into that 36%, and whatever is left is what the home loan can safely use. The comfortable budget above uses 28%; the ceiling uses the full 36%, which is the point where a single job loss or emergency starts to hurt.
More on this

This calculator is built on a framework Ankur Warikoo has talked about on his channel — that the real question isn’t “how big a loan will the bank give me,” it’s how much home you can carry without becoming house-poor. Most banks will approve far more than you should actually borrow. This shows you the number that keeps you safe, not just the number you qualify for.

Why "can you afford a home in 2026" isn't about your loan eligibility

A bank will tell you the biggest loan they're willing to give you. That number is designed to be as large as their risk models allow — it was never designed to be the number that lets you sleep at night. Ankur Warikoo's home affordability framework flips the question: instead of "what's my loan eligibility," it asks "what EMI can I carry without my life bending around it." The 28/36 rule is the mechanism — 28% of your gross income for the home EMI alone, 36% for all your EMIs combined, home loan included. Stay inside those two numbers and a job loss or a bad year is uncomfortable, not catastrophic.

What Ankur Warikoo's home affordability calculator actually checks

Most home affordability calculators online stop at "loan amount ÷ interest rate = EMI." This one runs the 28/36 rule against your actual income, your existing EMIs, and your down payment together, because all three move the real number at once. It also checks what a bank's calculator never will: whether your down payment is large enough relative to the home price, whether existing debt is already eating your safe borrowing room, and whether you have 6 months of expenses set aside before you touch any of this. That's the difference between "can I get approved" and "can I actually afford a home in 2026" — two very different questions with two very different answers.

This is an estimate, not a loan offer. Actual eligibility depends on the lender, your credit score, income proof and property. Lenders may approve up to 50% of income as EMI, but that is the stress zone this tool deliberately steers you away from. Figures assume a standard reducing-balance home loan. Rates and rules change; confirm with your lender before committing. This tool is inspired by a framework Ankur Warikoo has discussed publicly; Monzy built the calculator independently and Mr. Warikoo has not reviewed or endorsed it.