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The Ceiling

Type a ZIP, a price and your down payment. See the rent this home needs to cover principal, interest, tax and insurance, next to the HUD rent for that ZIP, and the most you can pay before that rent stops covering it.

The home

ZIP code

Five digits. The HUD rent comes from this ZIP.

Home price ($)

Purchase price estimate. Commas are fine.

Down payment

Percent of the price, or a dollar amount. The start is 20%.

Bedrooms

Rate estimate loads with the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed average. Term is 30 years.

Change rate

Interest rate (%)

Starts at the Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed average. The term stays 30 years.

Calculating the ceiling for ZIP 78704.

Every figure is an estimate from public data. It is not an appraisal, a quote, or a loan offer.

Freddie Mac PMMS 30-year fixed. freddiemac.com/pmms. FRED series MORTGAGE30US, fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MORTGAGE30US.
U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 5-year, B25103 and B25077, retrieved 2026-10-27. B25103. B25077.
NAIC homeowners report, Data for 2023, Table 4, published 2026, PDF page 122. NAIC homeowners report PDF.
HUD FY2027 FMR and Small Area FMR, effective 2026-10-01. huduser.gov/portal/datasets/fmr.html.

Methodology

Stress test it in the DSCR calculator

Rent estimator for this ZIP (market estimate)

How it works

Rent needed is three monthly estimates added together. Principal and interest is the fully amortizing payment on the price minus your down payment, at the rate shown, for 30 years. Property tax is the price times the county tax rate, or the state rate when the county has no figure, divided by 12. Insurance is the state HO-3 average premium divided by 12.

The ceiling price is the highest price where that sum still fits inside the HUD rent for the ZIP and the bedroom count, at your down payment and the rate shown.

Insurance uses NAIC HO-3 (owner-occupied homeowners) averages; landlord (DP-3) policies are not in the NAIC data.

Frequently asked questions

How is the rent needed figured?

Rent needed is the monthly principal and interest on a 30-year loan, plus one month of property tax, plus one month of insurance. Principal and interest use the price minus your down payment, at the rate shown. Tax is the home price times the county effective tax rate, or the state rate when the county has no figure, divided by 12. Insurance is the state average HO-3 premium divided by 12.

Where does the HUD rent come from?

The HUD rent is the FY2027 Fair Market Rent or Small Area FMR for that ZIP and bedroom count. HUD Fair Market Rent is a 40th percentile benchmark for the voucher program. It is not a market listing rent.

Why is insurance a state figure?

Insurance is the state average HO-3 premium from the NAIC homeowners report, Data for 2023, Table 4, published 2026. There is no public county homeowners premium series, so this page always labels insurance as a state estimate.