Enter your household income, down payment, and current mortgage rate. See which Des Moines metro suburbs fit comfortably in your budget and which would be a stretch.
This tool uses the standard mortgage affordability formula lenders actually use in Des Moines:
Your actual lender may use slightly different ratios or include additional factors (credit score, employment history, reserves). For a real pre-approval, talk to a local Des Moines lender.
Affordable (green): The suburb's median home price fits within the conservative 28% front-end ratio. You should have comfortable monthly cash flow after the mortgage.
Stretch (yellow): The median is within 5-15% of your maximum. You could qualify but would be house-poor. Possible with a larger down payment, lower-priced home in the suburb, or lifestyle trade-offs.
Not affordable (red): The median is more than 15% above your maximum affordable price. You'd need significantly more income, a much larger down payment, or to look in a different suburb.