First Time Homebuyer FAQ: What Can I Actually Afford in 2026? - 443
How to Buy a Home: The #1 First Time Home Buyer Podcast
David Sidoni
4.8 • 891 Ratings
🗓️ 28 January 2026
⏱️ 34 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This episode breaks down the biggest myth in home buying: how affordability is really calculated.
Most first-time buyers ask, “What can I afford?”—but that question leads to the wrong answers. David explains how bad math, bad advice, and outdated thinking have made homeownership feel further away than it actually is. Learn how debt-to-income ratios, down payments, and private mortgage insurance actually work in 2026. Real buyer examples prove you may be much closer to owning than you think.
“Buying a home isn’t just a financial decision. It’s a plan that interacts with every other aspect of your life.”
Highlights
- What happens when you ask, “What can I afford?” too early in the process?
- Can saving $45,000 more really lower your monthly payment in a meaningful way?
- What’s the truth about PMI—and is it actually a smart tool for first-time buyers?
- How did some buyers get in for as little as $3,700… or even less?
- Is the January 2026 market creating unexpected opportunities for renters?
Referenced Episodes
- 300 – 300th EPISODE! What Can You Afford? Homebuyer Consultation Breakdown
- 426 – Lowering Your Down Payment – Financially Prepare to Buy Your First Home – Pt. 7
- 198 – PMI Is a Privilege
- 216 – PMI Is Still A Privilege And Still Not The Devil
- 355 – Real Answers Pt 4: Should I Rent or Buy in 2025?
- 440 – First Time Homebuyer Playbook (Part 1): Rent Replacement Strategy
- 441 – First Time Homebuyer Playbook (Part 2): The Last Lease Ever
- 94 – First Time Home Buyer Terms And Definitions From A-Z...Well, Just A Actually
- 169 – Woman Power: This Single Woman Bought Her First Home
- 215 – That ADU Guy Interview - The Ultimate House Hacks To Make Buying Affordable
- 321 – Buying in a High-Cost Area – Long Island, NY (INTERVIEW)
- 399 – The Real Value of Buying: What Nick Gained Beyond a Mortgage
- 430 – First Time Homebuyer: Escaping $3K/Month Crushing Rent With Just $12K Down (INTERVIEW)
- 439 – First Time Homebuyer: Why Abigail Broke Her Lease and Bought in 90 Days
- 424 – First Time Home Buyers: Chloe & Eduardo Close on a Home (INTERVIEW)
Check out our updated 2026 First Time Homebuyer's Episode Guide - Over 100 of our BEST Episodes of Detailed Homebuying Knowledge, Interviews, and MORE!
Connect with me to find a trusted realtor in your area or to answer your burning questions!
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel @HowToBuyaHome
Instagram @HowtoBuyAHomePodcast
Tik Tok @HowToBuyAHome
Visit our Resource Center to "Ask David" AND get your FREE Home Buying Starter Kit!
David Sidoni, the "How to Buy a Home Guy," is a seasoned real estate professional and consumer advocate with two decades of experience helping first-time homebuyers navigate the real estate market. His podcast, "How to Buy a Home," is a trusted resource for anyone looking to buy their first home. It offers expert advice, actionable tips, and inspiring stories from real first-time homebuyers. With a focus on making the home-buying process accessible and understandable, David breaks down complex topics into easy-to-follow steps, covering everything from budgeting and financing to finding the right home and making an offer.
Subscribe for regular market updates, and leave a review to help us reach more people. Ready for an honest, informed home-buying experience? Viva la Unicorn Revolution - join us!
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the show. And today's question we're going to answer. I mean, it seems simple enough, right? What can I afford? This is the right place I should be starting. Isn't it? Should be. But you know what? After 20 years, I've seen firsthand how this question can completely demoralize and derail aspiring first-time homebuyers because people are asking the wrong version of this question. But there is a |
| 0:22.9 | solution. So let's get to it. Go time. How to Buy a Home educates, protects, and connects first-time |
| 0:29.2 | home buyers to qualified vetted realtors in their area. Whether you're looking for DIY information |
| 0:33.5 | or step-by-step guidance. How to Buy a Home is the number one resource for first-time home buyers. |
| 0:54.3 | What's happened to my How to Buy a Home E's? I'm David Sedoney and here's what's up. Hopeful first-time home buyers, they ask the question. All right, what can I afford? That means they want to know how much of a loan can they get and how much is that going to cost them each month? Or maybe they're even thinking, hey, some dude on a podcast keeps telling people you can do this, but can I really, |
| 1:00.6 | man, with my income and my debt? I mean, how much home could I really afford? Okay, before I break that |
| 1:06.7 | down for you, I'm going to give you some real quick housing market updates for January 2026 because there's some good news for you. Yeah, right now, it looks like you're going to be |
| 1:15.3 | affording more. Because according to a recent Redfin report of the 50 most populous metro areas |
| 1:21.2 | in the United States, we are currently in the strongest buyer's market on record. Let me say that |
| 1:27.1 | one more time. The strongest buyer's market on record. Let me say that one more time, the strongest |
| 1:28.4 | buyers market on record. There were roughly 47% more home sellers than buyers last month. |
| 1:35.4 | That is ridiculous. There were around 631,000 more homes than there were buyers for them. |
| 1:43.5 | That is the historic high. And what's crazy about that |
| 1:47.1 | is that during the last month, interest rates, they hit their lowest point in three years. |
| 1:52.9 | And home prices only went up 0.1%. So wait a minute, we got the lowest interest rates ever. |
| 1:58.8 | Home prices aren't going up and there's good |
| 2:01.0 | inventory out there. That's the perfect buyer's storm with affordability being the best it's |
| 2:06.2 | been in years. But we still had this crazy slow market, which means we still have a big |
| 2:11.9 | buyer's market. Because right now at the end of 25 and now here into 26, there's confusion, fear, and lack of correct |
| 2:20.2 | buying power information. And that's keeping the buyers out of the market. This is the winter |
| 2:26.1 | window of opportunity. I told you about it back in 24 from November to March of 2025. That was |
| 2:33.0 | going to be a winter window of opportunity. |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from David Sidoni, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of David Sidoni and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.