Tool
What does my monthly budget buy, town by town?
Start from what you want to spend each month, not from a price. The same payment buys a very different house depending on the town's property tax.
How this is worked out
For each town the tool finds the highest price at which the mortgage payment, property tax, upkeep reserve and insurance together fit your monthly budget. With f the payment per dollar borrowed (from your rate and term), the town's effective tax rate and your upkeep rate each spread over twelve months, the price is solved directly rather than looked up: price = (budget minus insurance plus f times your down payment) divided by (f plus the monthly tax rate plus the monthly upkeep rate).
Property tax uses the NJ Division of Taxation 2025 effective rates, which assume the home is assessed at the town average. Prices are rounded to the nearest $1,000. This is arithmetic on your inputs, not a statement of what any town costs, what homes sell for, or what a lender will approve. Check any figure with your lender and the town.
Questions
Questions about this tool
How is the maximum price calculated?
The tool adds the mortgage payment, the town's estimated property tax, an upkeep reserve and insurance, and solves for the price at which the total equals your monthly budget, given your down payment, rate and term.
Why does the same budget buy different prices in different towns?
Mainly property tax. The State's 2025 effective rates range from 1.475% in Summit to 3.080% in West Orange among the towns here, so the same monthly payment supports a higher price where the effective rate is lower.
Is this what a lender will approve?
No. Lenders look at income, debts, credit and their own rules. This only shows what a monthly budget supports once tax, upkeep and insurance are counted.
Next step
Tell me what you're trying to do.
Whether you're two years out or listing next month, a conversation costs nothing and usually clarifies more than a search ever will.