How Much House Can I Afford on Long Island?

This works the way I’d run your numbers with you. Your income and debts set the monthly budget. The tax bill and insurance come off the top, and what’s left decides the loan. Add a closing-cost estimate to see your cash to close at each price.

By Kevin deNeergaard, Mortgage Loan Originator (NMLS #2450179) · Updated Oct 12, 2026

How this calculator finds your price range

A payment calculator starts with a price and works forward to a payment. This one works backward from your income. It takes your gross monthly income, applies two illustrative debt-to-income ratios, subtracts the debt payments you already make and treats what’s left as the most your full housing payment can be. Then it finds the largest loan that payment supports at the rate you enter, adds your cash and arrives at a price.

Two things shape the math on Long Island. Property tax and insurance don’t shrink with a smaller loan, so they come off the top of the budget first. And your cash has to cover more than the down payment: if you enter a closing-cost estimate, the calculator sets it aside first and puts the rest toward the down payment.

What it assumes:

• Comfortable uses a 36% total debt-to-income ratio and stretch uses 43%. Both are illustrative ratios lenders often look at, not approval limits.
• All of your cash after the closing costs you enter goes to the down payment. If you want to keep savings in reserve, leave them out of the cash figure.
• It doesn’t estimate closing costs for you. If you leave the closing-cost field blank, the prices shown are before closing costs.
• It doesn’t check program rules such as minimum down payments, credit scores or reserves. A pre-approval does.

Debt-to-income, and why 36% and 43%

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau defines your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) as all your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. On a purchase, the new housing payment is one of those debts. Fannie Mae’s guide builds that payment from principal and interest; property, flood and mortgage insurance where they apply; real estate taxes; and association dues. That’s why each of them has a field above.

Neither ratio is a cutoff. Fannie Mae sets 36% as its maximum total DTI for manually underwritten loans, allows up to 45% when credit score and reserve requirements are met, and allows up to 50% for loans underwritten through its automated system, Desktop Underwriter. 43% is a familiar reference point because the federal General Qualified Mortgage definition used it as a cap until the CFPB replaced it with a limit based on loan pricing in a rule issued in December 2020. FHA, VA and jumbo programs set their own standards, and lenders can add their own.

So read the comfortable price as one where the payment leaves room for the rest of your budget, and the stretch price as the upper end some files reach with strong credit and savings. Where you should land depends on things no ratio sees: your other monthly costs, commuting, how steady your income is and how much you want left in the bank after closing.

Why property tax moves the number on Long Island

Property tax is often the second-largest piece of a Long Island housing payment, and two houses at the same price can carry very different bills. Nassau County has 56 school districts and about 200 special taxing districts on top of its towns, cities and villages. In Suffolk, assessments are set by each of the ten towns’ assessors. The bill depends on exactly where the house sits.

Every dollar of tax comes out of the same monthly budget that would otherwise carry a loan, so a higher bill lowers your price by far more than the tax itself. Once you enter a rate, the calculator shows how much each extra $1,000 a year of property tax lowers each price.

Use the actual tax bill for the house, not a county average; ask the listing agent for the current bill. Then look for a STAR line. New owners don’t get the STAR exemption. You register with the state for the STAR credit, which comes as a check or direct deposit around school tax time. If the bill shows the seller’s exemption, it may stay for your first year, but it won’t last, so I run the numbers without it. My Nassau County and Suffolk County guides cover assessments, grievances and STAR.

How your range compares with Long Island prices

Per OneKey MLS, the August 2026 single-family median was $911,000 in Nassau and $760,000 in Suffolk. Two lines matter when your range comes near those prices:

• $1,209,750: the 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home in both counties. A larger loan is generally a jumbo; see conventional and jumbo loans on Long Island.
• $1,249,125: the 2026 FHA loan limit for a one-family home in both counties; see FHA loans on Long Island. Limits for two to four units, and for every other New York county, are on my 2026 New York loan limits page.

For month-by-month medians in each county, see my Long Island housing market page, which I update after each OneKey release.

What goes into your cash to close

Your cash to close is the down payment plus closing costs. On a Long Island purchase those usually include attorney, title and lender fees, the escrow deposit for taxes and insurance, and the New York mortgage recording tax, which is charged when the mortgage is recorded. They vary with the loan, the lender and the house, so enter the total from your Loan Estimate under Estimated closing costs or ask me for an estimate. Your closing attorney confirms the exact amounts.

Next steps: from a range to a pre-approval

1. Test the range on real listings. Pull the tax bill and an insurance quote for a house you like, including flood coverage if it’s in a flood zone, and run them through my Long Island mortgage calculator. Its amortization schedule shows how that loan pays down, year by year.
2. Compare programs. HUD says FHA has lower minimum credit score requirements than most conventional mortgages, and gifts and approved down payment assistance can count toward FHA’s required investment. Depending on how much you borrow compared with the home’s value, a conventional loan may require private mortgage insurance. My guide to home purchase loans on Long Island walks through the options.
3. Ask about down payment assistance. I offer private down payment assistance programs available through lenders I work with. They aren’t government programs, and terms, eligibility and availability vary by program and lender. Depending on the program, assistance may be a second loan that must be repaid; if it has a payment, Fannie Mae’s guide counts that payment in your housing payment.
4. Get pre-approved on documents. A pre-approval built from your verified income, assets and credit shows what a lender will actually consider. With me, it takes only a soft credit check, so it won’t affect your credit score. The CFPB notes that a letter can expire, typically in 30 to 60 days, and doesn’t commit you to that lender. My Long Island first-time home buyer guide lists the documents.
5. Send me your numbers. I’ll run them against the tax bill for the town you like and compare programs from the lenders I work with. Request a personalized quote.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What is a debt-to-income ratio?.
2. Fannie Mae, Selling Guide B3-6-02, Debt-to-Income Ratios (04/02/2025).
3. Fannie Mae, Selling Guide B3-6-03, Monthly Housing Expense for the Subject Property (12/16/2020).
4. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, final rules on the General QM definition, December 10, 2020.
5. NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, STAR eligibility.
6. NYS Department of Taxation and Finance, School Tax Relief (STAR) frequently asked questions.
7. Nassau County, Popular Annual Financial Report FY2024.
8. Suffolk County Real Property Tax Service Agency, FAQs.
9. OneKey MLS, Footprint Round-Up, September 22, 2026 (August 2026 data).
10. FHFA, 2026 conforming loan limits, full county list (spreadsheet).
11. HUD, FHA mortgage limits.
12. HUD, FHA Myths v Facts (PDF).
13. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, What’s the difference between a prequalification letter and a preapproval letter?.
14. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Get a preapproval letter.