San Francisco & San Jose, California
Mortgage broker in San Francisco and San Jose — where every loan is jumbo and every lender prices it differently.
San Francisco’s July 2026 median of $2,050,000 and Santa Clara County’s $1,955,000 are jumbo loans even with 20% down, well past the $1,249,125 conforming ceiling. Jumbo has no Fannie Mae rulebook; every lender writes its own, which means the same file can be approved at one and declined at another, a quarter point apart. I’m Zach, a California-licensed originator with Coast 2 Coast Mortgage, and shopping that spread across the wholesale market is the job. Bay Area files close by phone, text and e-signature with local escrow.
Closings average about 13 days · No SSN or credit pull to start
The Bay Area market in 2026, by the numbers
San Francisco posted the largest year-over-year jump of any major California county in July 2026, and Santa Clara County kept climbing. Every figure here is from a 2026 primary source: the California Association of Realtors, HUD, FHFA, CalHFA, and the San Francisco Treasurer.
$2,050,000
San Francisco Co. median, July 2026 (+25.2%)
$1,955,000
Santa Clara Co. median, July 2026 (+2.9%)
$1,249,125
2026 FHA & conforming limit, both counties
1.18%
SF FY2025-26 secured property tax rate
Sources: C.A.R. July 2026, HUD CY2026 county limits, FHFA 2026, SF Treasurer FY2025-26. CalHFA 2026 income limit: $325,000 in both counties.
Why jumbo is the default here, and why that makes lender choice everything
Conforming loans are commodities: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac set the rules and every lender prices off the same sheet. Jumbo loans are not. Each bank and wholesale lender sets its own reserve requirement, its own treatment of RSU and bonus income, its own maximum debt ratio, and its own rate. On a $1.6 million loan a quarter point is roughly $270 a month for thirty years. Shopping the spread is not a nice-to-have in San Francisco and San Jose; it is the product.
Loan amounts on the July 2026 county medians. Even a conservative 20% down payment leaves both Bay Area medians well into jumbo territory.
- Reserves. Jumbo lenders commonly require six to twelve months of the full payment in the bank after closing. Vested stock often counts, at a discount; unvested never does.
- Down payment. 20% is the clean path. Some lenders go to 10% at strong credit with higher pricing; I quote both so the reserve math and the rate trade-off are visible.
- Income. Base salary is simple. RSUs, bonuses, and founder equity are where guidelines diverge, and where the right lender is chosen before the file is ever submitted. See jumbo loans in the Bay Area for the detail.
City by city, which loan fits
- San Francisco. Jumbo on nearly every single-family home; condos in SoMa and the Mission can land under the $1,249,125 FHA and conforming limit, which is where a first-time buyer in the Bay Area still has a conforming path. UCSF is the city’s second-largest employer; Salesforce anchors the tech side.
- San Jose and Santa Clara County. Apple, Google, Meta, and Nvidia paychecks with heavy equity components. This is where reading RSU income correctly decides the approval. Jumbo with 20% down is the standard file.
- Sunnyvale and the Peninsula, including San Mateo. Same income profile, same jumbo reality, with older housing stock that appraisers know well. Reserves and equity comp are the two conversations.
- Oakland and the East Bay. The region’s most reachable entry point. Here FHA loans in the Bay Area, 3%-down conventional, and CalHFA MyHome actually fit, and two-to-four unit properties qualify for the higher FHA limits (up to $2,402,625 for four units).
- Fremont. Tesla’s factory and a commuter corridor to the South Bay. Prices bridge the limit, so both conforming and jumbo files close here, and DSCR loans pencil on the rental side better than in San Francisco proper.
First-time home buyers in the Bay Area: what is real in 2026
CalHFA MyHome Assistance: a deferred junior loan of 3.5% of the price with a CalHFA FHA first, or 3.0% with a CalHFA conventional, VA, or USDA first, repaid on sale, refinance, or payoff. First-time buyer, homebuyer education, and household income at or under the 2026 limit of $325,000 in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. CalHFA firsts are conforming loans, so in practice MyHome pairs with condos and East Bay purchases at or under about $1.29 million. No published dollar cap on the current CalHFA page.
Dream For All (up to 20% of the price, capped at $150,000, first-generation buyers) closed its 2026 lottery in March and released vouchers May 20, 2026; no later round is announced. For most Bay Area first-time buyers the realistic levers are a family gift for the down payment, a seller credit toward closing costs, and choosing the jumbo lender that allows the lowest down payment on your credit profile.
What a Bay Area payment looks like
Illustrative only. Prop 13 sets tax at 1% of purchase price plus voter-approved bonds (San Francisco's FY2025-26 rate is 1.18268%), rising at most 2% a year; a supplemental bill follows closing. No mortgage insurance at 20% down on most jumbo programs.
Bay Area incomes, and how underwriting reads them
- Tech W-2 with equity. Base salary counts fully. Vested RSUs and bonuses generally need a two-year history and are counted at lender-specific percentages. Choosing the lender is choosing the approval.
- Founders, consultants, and 1099 engineers. Bank statement loans in the Bay Area qualify on 12 or 24 months of deposits instead of a tax return the CPA optimized. I co-founded a business before mortgages; I have filed that return.
- Investors. DSCR financing qualifies on rent, closes in an LLC, and skips personal income. Cash-flow math is tighter in San Francisco than in Oakland or Fremont; I run the ratio before you offer.
- Long-time owners. A HELOC in the Bay Area taps equity without giving up a low first-mortgage rate.
Closing a Bay Area loan with Zach
- 1 Day 1
Say hi
Call or text. I collect the compensation picture (base, bonus, RSUs, reserves) and match it to the jumbo lender whose guidelines read it best.
- 2 Week 1
Real pre-approval
Documents reviewed, credit run once, reserves verified, a letter that holds up in a San Jose offer round.
- 3 Under contract
Escrow opens
Bay Area escrow and title, a local appraiser, electronic disclosures, contingency dates tracked daily.
- 4 About 13 days
Clear to close
My closings average about 13 days from application; complex jumbo income can add time, and I tell you that on day one. Mobile notary at signing.
California has no mortgage tax. The county documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of price; San Francisco layers its own city transfer tax on top, customarily paid by the seller. Buyer closing costs run 2–5% of the price. Under Prop 13 your tax is reassessed to the purchase price, with a supplemental bill after closing; I include it in the estimate before you offer.
Figures current as of September 2026. Limits, CalHFA terms, and market data change; I re-verify on your actual file.
Napkin math, upgraded
Price a Bay Area jumbo at 10%, 15% or 20% down.
Defaults start at a $1.1 million price; slide up to the $2 million Bay Area medians. Jumbo pricing, reserve requirements, and mortgage-insurance rules vary by lender, so this shows the payment shape, not one lender's quote.
Taxes assume about 1.1–1.2% of price under Prop 13 plus insurance; San Francisco's official FY2025-26 secured rate is 1.18%. Illustrative estimates only — not a rate quote, an offer, or a commitment to lend. Your actual figures depend on your full scenario. More tools on the calculators page.
Real questions
Things people ask Zach about this
Is a median Bay Area home a jumbo loan even with 20% down?
Yes. San Francisco's July 2026 median of $2,050,000 leaves a $1,640,000 loan at 20% down; Santa Clara County's $1,955,000 median leaves $1,564,000. Both are far above the $1,249,125 conforming ceiling. To stay conforming on a San Francisco median you would need about 39% down. Jumbo is simply the normal loan here, and the goal is shopping it well.
How is RSU and stock income counted on a Bay Area mortgage?
It depends on the lender, which is exactly why a broker matters here. Most lenders want a two-year history of vesting and count a percentage of the vested value, some discount volatile tickers, and a few will use a shorter history for a strong employer. On a Bay Area jumbo that difference can be the whole approval. I find the lender whose guideline reads your compensation most generously before the file is submitted.
Does FHA or CalHFA help in San Francisco or San Jose?
Rarely on a single-family home. FHA's 2026 limit is $1,249,125 in both counties, which covers condos and some smaller homes in Oakland, Fremont, and San Mateo, but not the medians. CalHFA MyHome (3.5% with an FHA first, 3% with a conventional first, deferred) uses the same limits, with a 2026 income limit of $325,000 in San Francisco and Santa Clara counties. Dream For All's 2026 lottery is closed.
How much cash do I need to buy in the Bay Area?
On the San Francisco median at 20% down: $410,000 down plus 2–5% closing costs, plus lender-required reserves that on jumbo loans often run six to twelve months of payments. Some jumbo lenders allow 10% down with strong credit and reserves, which drops the down payment to $205,000 at the cost of a higher rate or mortgage insurance. That trade-off is a scenario conversation, not a rule.
How do you close a Bay Area loan from Cincinnati?
Through Coast 2 Coast Mortgage's wholesale platform with a Bay Area escrow and title company, a local appraiser, electronic disclosures, and a mobile notary at signing. I am licensed in California, studied at Cal State Northridge, and keep a (213) number. My closings average about 13 days from application; jumbo files with complex income can run longer, and I say so up front.
Keep reading
Related lending
Jumbo loans in California above the $1,249,125 limit →Bank statement loans for Bay Area founders and consultants →DSCR loans for Bay Area rental investors →HELOC and second mortgages to tap Bay Area equity without refinancing →All California lending: Los Angeles, Orange County, San Diego, Sacramento →Where Zach lends
Every loan program in the Bay Area
No pressure, no credit pull
Run your Bay Area mortgage scenario by Zach.
Send the shape of it — what you’re buying, roughly what you earn, where you’re at. Zach reads every one personally and gets back to you the same day, nights and weekends included.
Nothing sensitive lives on this form: no Social Security number, no paperwork, and your credit isn’t touched until you say so. Equal Housing Opportunity. Zachary Bates, NMLS #2687902 · Coast 2 Coast Mortgage, NMLS #376205.