[dsaavy]

"believe" is a funny word to use for a mathematical equation

[cykros]

What you can afford is based on what you've modeled based on assumptions about your future cash flow, unless you're talking about what you can afford to pay out of pocket, without taking on any debt in the process. Which isn't how people talk about buying houses.

Any time credit is involved, belief in one's assumptions is absolutely part of the equation.

[AnimalMuppet]

People have perceptions that may or may not correspond to mathematical reality. The perceptions also matter, though (politically, if nothing else).