f you’re a future homebuyer, you might have used one of those “How much mortgage can I afford?” calculators online. These calculators typically gather information like your down payment amount, credit score range, monthly or annual income and debts.

Then, they’ll spit out an estimate of what a bank might lend you mortgage-wise.

These calculators work primarily by figuring out your debt-to-income ratio and then how much you can afford to pay for your monthly mortgage payment. This is similar to how banks decide how much to lend you.

The typical bank limit on monthly mortgage payments is about 28 percent of your gross monthly income. Therefore, the bank thinks you can devote up to 28 percent of your household income to your mortgage payment and expenses (including taxes, insurance and association dues).

Banks will also typically allow a total debt-to-income ratio of up to around 36 percent. This means that your mortgage, credit card payments, student loan payments and car payments shouldn’t exceed 36 percent of your total monthly income. (Note that if your other debt payments are already at 15 percent of your monthly income, you only have 21 percent of your income to devote to your mortgage, regardless of the 28 percent rule.)

So when you put your current income and expenses into a house affordability calculator, it will tell you how much you can afford to pay for your home per month. Then, based on factors such as estimated interest rate, tax payments, insurance payments and available down payment, it’ll tell you how much house, in total, you can afford.

http://news.yahoo.com/buy-try-mortgage-size-134343468.html

Median home prices in Carroll County are on the rise, along with average monthly payments, according to a national survey on home affordability released Wednesday by RealtyTrac, the nation’s leading source on housing data.

These findings are among many recent indicators that show the local housing market is recovering from the 2008 crash that sent values plummeting and flooded the area with foreclosures, said the president of the West Metro Board of Realtors.

“Overall the market is getting a lot more stable and consistent,” said Dwayne Hicks, West Metro president and a broker with Metro West Realty. “If a home is priced right, it’s going to sell. With the values coming back up, current homeowners can move up to a larger house. We’re seeing solid signs of this, with more people putting their homes on the market and getting them sold.”

Hicks said most of the inventory of foreclosed homes that was keeping the market prices down has been sold. He said investors are bidding prices up on the remaining foreclosures left.

The median Carroll County home value at the end of 2013 was $96,267, up from $66,667 at the end of 2012, a 44 percent increase.

Along with the higher home prices, the average monthly payment rose from $288 at the end of 2012 to $458 at the end of 2013, a 59 percent increase.

During the same time period, the average Carroll County rental cost for a three-bedroom home rose slightly, from $1,158 to $1,187.

“Our rental market climbed a little, but it didn’t pick up as much as rentals in other parts of the country because we have a big rental market here with the university,” Hicks said.

http://www.times-georgian.com/article_42de3404-99e6-11e3-8194-0017a43b2370.html

Click here to view the full photogallery.

From what we hear from friends and acquaintances looking to buy, the market is heating up, at least on the lower end. For example, we understand that the house pictured here, a charming 1860 property in the Amagansett Lanes, which was listed late last week, had several offers over asking price as of Friday. Ask was $2.1M; for that you get a 2000sf fixer-upper with four bedrooms and 2.5 baths and 0.65 of an acre of land. We hope it’s sold to someone who wants to spruce up the old house rather than a developer who will tear it down. If anyone knows more, you know where to reach us.

http://hamptons.curbed.com/archives/2014/02/03/the_hamptons_house_market_is_heating_up.php