How much do I need to make for $1.5M home?

I’m aware there’s a lot to consider here but I’m more asking for anecdotal experiences and opinions.

With that, how much would you need to make in annual income to feel comfortable affording a $1.5M home today? Is $500k in household income more than enough or would you

8 Comments
 
[Comment removed by mod team]
 
Most Helpful

Not enough information to say for sure. Entirely depends on your down payment

If you're making a down payment of 20% ($300k), then yes $500k of income would, in all likelihood, be more than enough income. 

Assuming a $300k down payment, a 6% interest rate on a 30yr mortgage, with modest insurance and property taxes, your monthly payment would be around $7,600. Using the 30% rule, your gross income should then be around $25.3k per month or $304k per year.  
Again, there's no hard and fast rule that "$500k per year is enough income to afford a $1.5M house" but most of the time it should be. 

 

RedWhiteAndWho

Not enough information to say for sure. Entirely depends on your down payment. 

If you're making a down payment of 20% ($300k), then yes $500k of income would, in all likelihood, be more than enough income. 

Assuming a $300k down payment, a 6% interest rate on a 30yr mortgage, with modest insurance and property taxes, your monthly payment would be around $7,600. Using the 30% rule, your gross income should then be around $25.3k per month or $304k per year.  
Again, there's no hard and fast rule that "$500k per year is enough income to afford a $1.5M house" but most of the time it should be. 

Add $1-2k if its a condo in NYC but this nailed it. 

 
Funniest

If you make half a million a year and can't afford a $1.5M house, you are doing a lot of other things incorrectly. 

Commercial Real Estate Developer
 

CRE

If you make half a million a year and can't afford a $1.5M house, you are doing a lot of other things incorrectly. 

LOL bro first thing I thought was wtf - and then ran to comments

"If you always put limits on everything you do, physical or anything else, it will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them." - Bruce Lee
 

Thanks for the comments. I’m getting caught up because I’m currently spending 20% of my net post tax income on rent. To spend 20% net on a mortgage with taxes insurance, etc. I’m far off snd 500k wouldn’t work. Guess people are just spending a lot more for housing. I’m not at that stage of life yet so this was more for my own curiosity

 

Nulla exercitationem a debitis. Veniam unde eligendi sunt sit. Sit quisquam ex eum atque earum. Rerum voluptatibus enim quis nihil voluptatem.

Non adipisci possimus dicta provident libero facilis praesentium minima. Excepturi porro nobis iure quis. Eum quo id est inventore. Nisi praesentium et rerum.

 

Ut impedit ut in laudantium. Aut debitis quis deleniti veritatis laborum expedita. Vel et corrupti aut. Dolorem sed fuga molestiae fuga et. Aperiam sed fugit nihil error neque minima quis. Voluptate id fuga eum est quam magnam. Delectus autem voluptatem sit facilis.

Perferendis alias impedit quas cumque doloremque ut. Culpa eius voluptatem quos suscipit. Quam nulla ut doloribus hic. Quis quia et quia et sunt ut.

Pariatur totam mollitia commodi sunt asperiores porro in ut. Doloremque et sit neque saepe natus repellendus velit. Magni eius fugiat est veniam et doloremque possimus. Facilis velit earum aut iusto cupiditate quia enim.

Aliquam illo ab ut ea laudantium officia. Illum rerum quia nostrum nam qui deserunt. Impedit ab nihil aut fuga provident modi minus.

Career Advancement Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.3%
  • Guggenheim Partners 01 97.7%
  • Morgan Stanley 07 97.1%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.4%
  • Evercore No 98.8%
  • Morgan Stanley 01 98.3%
  • BMO Capital Markets 13 97.7%
  • Banco Santander 01 97.1%

Professional Growth Opportunities

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.4%
  • Moelis & Company 01 98.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 98.3%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.7%
  • JPMorgan 01 97.1%

Total Avg Compensation

July 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (15) $434
  • Associates (46) $258
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (22) $179
  • Intern/Summer Associate (13) $156
  • 1st Year Analyst (80) $150
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (73) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
3
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
6
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
7
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
8
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
9
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
10
Mimbs's picture
Mimbs
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”