Empowering better
financial decisions.

The Team

Built by people who care about the math.

TheHousingCalc was started in 2026 by Noa Riley, a founder with a background in product design and financial tooling. The goal from day one was to build the housing-finance calculators we wished existed when we were each buying our first homes — accurate, clearly explained, free of dark patterns, and designed with the same care as the apps we use every day.

We're not a publicly-traded media company optimizing for ad revenue at the expense of clarity. The site runs on the same tooling top tech companies use (Next.js, Vercel) and the math is verified against industry-standard sources before publication. If a calculator gives a number we can't justify with a citation, it doesn't ship.

Methodology

Real lender math, transparent assumptions.

Every calculator uses the exact formulas used by mortgage lenders, real estate investors, and licensed financial planners. Principal-and-interest payments use the standard amortization formula. Affordability calculations apply the lender-standard 28/36 debt-to-income rule. Property tax pages use the effective tax rate published by the Tax Foundation, applied to home values published by Zillow and Redfin.

Where calculators rely on assumptions — homeowner's insurance estimates, vacancy rates for rental properties, average closing costs — those assumptions are disclosed prominently on each calculator page. You can override every default with your own number. Nothing is hidden.

All math runs client-side in JavaScript. We've verified our outputs against the calculators published by major mortgage lenders, Bankrate, and NerdWallet for consistency — and against independent reference values from publicly available amortization tables. When we've found discrepancies in our verification testing, our math has matched the standard formula within rounding error.

Data Sources

Reputable, refreshed annually.

• Property tax rates: State-level effective property tax rates from the Tax Foundation and U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey, refreshed annually.
• Median home values: State and metro-area median home values from Zillow Home Value Index and Redfin's published market data, refreshed annually.
• Mortgage rates: Default rates reflect recent national averages for conventional 30-year fixed-rate loans. Users override this with their actual quoted rate.
• Insurance averages: State-level homeowner's insurance premiums from aggregated NAIC and industry-published averages.
• Transfer tax rates: State-level real estate transfer tax data from state revenue department publications.

Local rates within a state vary by county, city, and special district. The state-level averages we use are a strong starting point but should be overridden with your specific local rate for a precise estimate. Your county assessor's website publishes the exact rates for your address.

Editorial Standards

Estimates, not advice.

Our calculators and written content are educational estimates. For major financial decisions — buying a home, refinancing, evaluating an investment property — always confirm numbers with a licensed mortgage lender, CPA, or financial advisor. The math we show is correct; the right decision for your individual circumstances depends on factors beyond what any calculator can know.

We don't accept paid placement, sponsored calculators, or affiliate-driven content recommendations. The site is supported by display advertising, which is clearly labeled and never allowed to influence editorial content.

Contact

Get in touch.

Spot a bug, have a question, or want to suggest a new calculator? Email hello@thehousingcalc.com. We read every message and respond to substantive feedback. See also our Blog for explainers and data deep-dives, Privacy Policy, and Terms of Service.