How Much House Can I Afford in Miami?
Updated September 2026
A price range built the way a lender builds it: from your income, your monthly debts, your down payment and today’s rate, with Florida taxes and insurance already inside the payment. Then see how living in one unit of a duplex, triplex or a home with an ADU changes the answer.
What can you afford?
Estimate your price range — and see how renting out units in a duplex, triplex, or ADU could stretch it further.
An estimate using standard DTI guidelines — not a pre-approval. Speak with a lender for real numbers.
How the range is built
Enter your gross annual income, the monthly payments you already carry (car, student loans, minimum card payments), the cash you plan to put down, and an interest rate. Choose the property type. For a duplex, triplex or a home with an ADU, add the rent you expect to collect from the units you will not live in.
The tool applies the back-end debt-to-income guideline that most conventional lenders use, then finds the highest price whose full monthly payment fits inside that limit. That payment includes principal and interest plus an estimate for property taxes and homeowners insurance, because in South Florida those two lines are never small enough to ignore.
For a two-to-four-unit property you live in, lenders typically count a portion of the projected rent as qualifying income. The tool shows that credit separately so you can see how much of the range comes from the building paying for itself. ADU rent is treated more conservatively, as many lenders do.
The result is a range, not a pre-approval. Credit score, reserves, the loan program and the property itself all move the real number. Use the range to decide which neighborhoods to look at, then get a written pre-approval before you tour.
What a monthly budget buys in Miami-Dade — the four numbers that set it
| Input | Typical Miami-Dade range | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Property tax | About 1.7–2.2% of the purchase price per year (county + municipal millage) | Reassessed to the sale price the year after you buy |
| Homeowners insurance | Driven by roof age, wind mitigation and construction | Often the second-largest line after the mortgage |
| Flood insurance | $0 in zone X to four figures in AE/VE | Required with a federally backed loan in a Special Flood Hazard Area |
| HOA / condo dues | $0 for most single-family; $300–$1,500+/month in condos | Counted in your debt-to-income ratio |
| Down payment | 3.5% (FHA) · 3–5% (conventional) · 20% (no mortgage insurance) | Sets the loan amount and whether PMI applies |
Ranges are directional; the calculator uses your own figures. Tax estimate = price × total millage; ask us for the exact millage of any address. · Miami-Dade Property Appraiser — millage
Next step
“The present cash value of the property, which is the amount a willing purchaser would pay a willing seller, exclusive of reasonable fees and costs of purchase, in cash or the immediate equivalent thereof in a transaction at arm's length”
Questions about affordability
Why is my range lower than an online “how much house” quiz?
Because this one includes Florida property taxes and insurance in the payment. Many calculators only count principal and interest, which overstates what you can carry here.
Should I enter my income before or after taxes?
Before taxes. Lenders qualify on gross income, so the tool does too.
What counts as a monthly debt?
Anything that appears on your credit report with a required payment: car loans, student loans, minimum credit-card payments, personal loans, child support. Utilities, phone plans and groceries do not count.
Does the house-hack rent really count toward my loan?
For a two-to-four-unit property you will live in, most conventional and FHA programs count a portion of the projected rent, documented by an appraiser’s rent schedule or existing leases. The exact share depends on the program, so confirm with the lender.
How much house can I afford in Miami?
Take your gross monthly income, keep the total housing payment — mortgage, taxes, insurance, flood and HOA — near 28–31% and all debts under about 43–45% (the ranges most lenders use), then work backwards to a price. The calculator does that with Miami-Dade tax and insurance assumptions instead of national ones.
Turn the range into a pre-approval.
Tell us your range and the neighborhoods you have in mind. We will introduce a lender who works with conventional, FHA and ITIN borrowers and get you a written number.
← All tools