Your proposed monthly housing payment (PITI + HOA) divided by your gross monthly income. Lenders generally want this under 28-31%.
Front-end DTI is the housing-only portion of your debt-to-income ratio. It measures how much of your gross monthly income would go to your total housing payment — principal, interest, property taxes, homeowners insurance, mortgage insurance, and any HOA dues.
Conventional lending typically targets front-end DTI under 28%. FHA goes a bit higher — up to 31%. These aren't always hard caps (compensating factors like strong credit, large reserves, or low back-end DTI can stretch them), but exceeding them tightens approval.
Front-end DTI is the simpler ratio. The back-end DTI — which adds your other debts — is usually the more important one in modern underwriting.
Example
You earn $8,000/month gross. Your proposed mortgage PITI is $2,400 and HOA is $100. Front-end DTI = $2,500 ÷ $8,000 = 31.25%. A conventional lender would want to see a strong back-end DTI and good credit to support that.
Formula
Front-end DTI = (Total housing payment ÷ Gross monthly income) × 100
Also known as
housing ratio, front DTI, top ratio