Can I afford a $300,000 house on a $70,000 salary?

The short answer is: it depends on more than just the two numbers in that question, and knowing which numbers actually matter is what changes the outcome. Lenders don't look at your salary alone. They look at your total monthly debt load compared to your gross monthly income. That ratio is called your debt-to-income ratio, and it's one of the biggest factors in whether a loan gets approved and at what terms. If you're carrying a car payment, student loans, or credit card balances, those eat into what a lender will count as available for a mortgage payment. A clean debt picture on a $70,000 salary tells a very different story than the same salary weighed down by several monthly obligations. Down payment matters too, and not only for the obvious reason. A larger down payment reduces the loan amount, which reduces the monthly payment. It can also affect whether you're required to carry private mortgage insurance, which adds to your monthly cost without building any equity. So the question isn't just whether you can qualify. It's whether the payment leaves you with room to actually live. In Denver, $300,000 is a real price point worth understanding. It doesn't get you every neighborhood or every property type, but it's a number that exists in this market and is worth running the real math on before you assume yes or no. What most people don't realize is that the pre-approval conversation with a lender should happen before you ever look at a single listing. That conversation tells you what the actual number is, not the estimated one. It also tells you where to focus, so you're not falling for a home that was never actually within reach. The question to sit with isn't whether the salary sounds right. It's whether your full financial picture supports the payment that comes with it. Tammy Morran, The HomeBridge Group @ eXp Realty