PATRICK’S QUICK ANSWER
You can often afford more than you think, but the number that matters is the payment you can live with, not the ceiling the lender approves. In San Antonio, property taxes and insurance are a real part of that payment, so run the full picture before you tour. Start with pre-approval so you shop with a number, not a guess.
Your affordability number is not the same as your pre-approval ceiling, it is the payment you can live with comfortably. As a dual-licensed loan officer and Realtor, I help buyers across San Antonio and Bexar County run the real numbers before they ever step into a home, because the home you qualify for and the home you should buy are two different things. Here is how to find your number.
This is the first chapter of my free Essential First-Time Homebuyer Roadmap, and it is the step too many buyers rush past.
Start With the Monthly Payment, Not the Price
Lenders qualify you on your monthly payment, not the sticker price. Your payment includes principal and interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, and HOA dues when they apply. In Texas, property taxes are a real part of your payment, so they belong in the math from day one.
A quick rule of thumb is that many buyers aim to keep total housing costs near 28% of gross monthly income, but that is a starting point, not a rule. Your actual comfort level, your other debts, and your savings all matter more.
Factor Your Other Debts Into Debt to Income
Lenders add your minimum monthly debt payments to your housing costs and compare the total to your income. That is your debt to income ratio, and it decides how much house you qualify for. Car payments, student loans, credit cards, and any deferred student loan payments that still count all play a part.
If you want a clearer picture of how your income, debts, and a down payment work together on an $300K to $1M purchase in San Antonio, I break down the full method in Ask Patrick.
- Write down your gross monthly income.
- List every minimum monthly debt payment you have.
- Estimate taxes, insurance, and HOA for the price range you are watching.
- Work backward from a comfortable monthly payment to a price range.
- Leave room in the budget for maintenance and surprises.
Know Your Cash to Close, Not Just Your Down Payment
Buyers often focus only on the down payment and forget the rest of the cash they need at closing. On a typical Texas purchase your cash to close includes the down payment, transaction costs such as lender fees and title policy, and prepaids such as pro-rated taxes and insurance.
For a first-time buyer there are legitimately low-down options, from conventional loans at 3% down to FHA at 3.5% and VA and USDA at zero down, plus Texas down payment assistance that can cut your out-of-pocket number further.
The takeaway: get the whole cash to close number, not just the down payment percentage, before you fall in love with a price point.
Redo the Math When Rates Change
A small rate move changes your buyable price a lot. If you have been saving a down payment for a while, re-run your numbers when rates shift instead of assuming your old budget still holds. I have seen buyers hold the same price in their head for months and then lose out because their payment changed.
Ready to lock in a real number? Read the full Roadmap or, better yet, we can run your situation together on a discovery call.
Nerd Alert
The actual numbers and math behind this topic, the way I run them on the channel.
Let me run the actual math on a $295,000 purchase at current rates. The Freddie Mac weekly survey put the national 30-year fixed average at 6.76% in September 2026 (an estimate, not a quote). With 20% down your loan is $236,000, and my math puts principal and interest at about $1,532 a month. At Bexar County's roughly 1.8% effective property tax, that is about $443 a month on this home, plus home insurance near $125, so the full payment lands close to $2,100.
- A $2,100 payment at the common 28% housing guideline needs about $7,500 a month in gross income, roughly $90,000 a year.
- On 3.5% down FHA, the same home runs closer to $2,570 a month because mortgage insurance is added to the math.
- Every $10,000 of price adds roughly $65 a month in principal and interest at current rates.
For a San Antonio buyer the practical figure is the payment below about 28% of gross income with Texas taxes and insurance inside it, not the pre-approval ceiling. That is the number I build offers around, and it is genuinely reachable for a first-time buyer, which is exactly the kind of math I run on your side.
These are estimates for illustration, not quotes. Figures use publicly available rates and program terms at the time of writing, and your actual rate, fees, and payment depend on your credit file, loan program, and closing date.
