Mortgage broker in San Diego — where the median home and the loan limit finally agree.

The San Diego market in 2026, by the numbers

Every figure on this page comes from a primary source dated 2026: the California Association of Realtors’ July 2026 sales report, HUD’s CY2026 county limits, FHFA’s conforming limits, and CalHFA’s 2026 handbooks. San Diego is the rare coastal California county where the numbers line up in the buyer’s favor.

Sources: C.A.R. July 2026 (existing single-family), HUD CY2026 county limits, FHFA 2026, CalHFA income limits eff. 6/30/2026.

Why San Diego is the one place FHA still works on a median home

In Los Angeles and Orange County the FHA and conforming limits sit at the national ceiling of $1,249,125 while medians run past it. San Diego County got its own limit, $1,104,000, based on HUD’s $960,000 median price study, and the actual July 2026 median came in just below it. That means three lanes are open on the same house:

FHA loan at 3.5% downfits under the $1,104,000 FHA limit

$1,061,018

Conventional at 10% downconforming, no jumbo pricing

$989,550

Conventional at 20% downno mortgage insurance

$879,600

2026 county limit

$1,104,000

Loan amounts on the $1,099,500 July 2026 median. A loan above $1,104,000 is jumbo; below it, standard FHA or conforming conventional pricing applies.

• FHA at 3.5% down — about $38,500 down. Flexible on credit and debt ratios. Because the base loan is above $726,200, FHA’s annual mortgage insurance runs 0.75% for the life of the loan, so this is the door you use to get in, then refinance out of once equity allows.
• Conventional at 10% down — about $110,000 down. Stays conforming. Private mortgage insurance drops off by request at 80% of the original value.
• VA at zero down. For the county’s largest workforce. No limit with full entitlement, no monthly insurance, funding fee waived with VA disability compensation.

Neighborhood by neighborhood, which loan fits

San Diego is not one market. The loan that makes sense in Chula Vista is not the loan that makes sense in La Jolla, and a broker’s job is to know the difference before you write an offer.

• Chula Vista and the South Bay. The county’s most reachable entry point for first-time buyers. FHA, CalHFA, and 3%-down conventional all live here, and a first-time buyer program in San Diego is usually the right conversation.
• Escondido and North County inland. More house for the money and a real rental market. Investors qualifying on rent rather than tax returns use DSCR loans in San Diego here.
• Carlsbad and the coastal North County. Prices push past the county limit, so jumbo loans in San Diego become standard and the down payment conversation starts at 10–20%.
• La Jolla. Jumbo territory almost without exception, often with asset-based or bank statement qualifying for business owners and physicians at Scripps and UC San Diego.
• North Park and the urban core. Condos, small multi-units, and first-time buyers again. Two-to-four unit properties get higher limits: the 2026 FHA limit for a duplex in San Diego County is $1,413,350.

First-time home buyers in San Diego: the help that is actually available in 2026

Searches for first-time buyer help in San Diego outnumber almost every other mortgage term in the county, and the honest answer is more useful than the hype.

Dream For All, CalHFA’s shared-appreciation program (up to 20% of the price, capped at $150,000, for first-generation buyers), ran its 2026 lottery in February and March and released vouchers on May 20, 2026. That portal is closed with no later round announced. If it reopens I will know first; until then, plan on MyHome plus a seller credit.

Your 3.5% down payment $38,483 (54%)

Estimated closing costs (~3%) $32,985 (46%)

Total need$71,468

Against that need: CalHFA MyHome can cover up to $38,483 (3.5%) of it as a deferred junior loan, and a seller credit of up to 6% of the price on FHA can absorb closing costs. Many San Diego first-time buyers bring well under $20,000 of their own money on a seven-figure home. Illustrative; closing costs vary 2–5%.

What a median San Diego payment looks like

Principal & interest (6.5%, 30-yr)$6,255 80%

Property tax (~1.1%)$1,008 13%

Homeowners insurance (estimate)$200 3%

Mortgage insurance (est., 10% down)$330 4%

Illustrative only. Property tax under Prop 13 is 1% of the purchase price plus voter-approved bonds, then rises at most 2% a year; expect a supplemental tax bill in your first year. Insurance and PMI vary by property and credit.

Who buys in San Diego, and how their income gets counted

The region’s largest employer is the U.S. Navy, between Naval Base San Diego and Camp Pendleton, followed by UC San Diego, Qualcomm, Scripps, and Sharp. Each of those paychecks is underwritten differently:

• Active duty and veterans. BAH counts as income. A VA loan in San Diego is almost always the first thing I price.
• Biotech and tech. Base salary is straightforward; bonuses and stock compensation need a two-year history to count, and how much of it counts depends on the lender. Shopping that detail across lenders is exactly what a broker is for.
• Physicians and business owners. When tax returns understate real income, bank statement loans in San Diego qualify on 12 or 24 months of deposits. I have lived on self-employed income myself, so this conversation is a short one.
• Investors. With no rent control on single-family homes, DSCR financing qualifies the property on its rent, closes in an LLC, and never asks for a W-2.

Closing a San Diego loan from a Cincinnati desk

I will be direct about geography: I am based in Cincinnati, licensed in California, and I keep a (213) number because Los Angeles is where I went to school and where a large part of my life still is. None of that slows a San Diego file down. Coast 2 Coast Mortgage is a national wholesale platform, escrow is a California institution that has always worked remotely, and every document from disclosure to closing package is signed electronically or with a mobile notary at your kitchen table.

1. 1
   Day 1

   Say hi

   Call, text, or the two-minute form. I price FHA, conventional, VA, and jumbo side by side against the $1,104,000 limit. No credit pull yet.

2. 2
   Week 1

   Real pre-approval

   Documents reviewed, credit run once, a letter your agent can put in front of a seller in Chula Vista or Carlsbad the same day.

3. 3
   Under contract

   Escrow opens

   San Diego escrow and title, a local appraiser, and disclosures signed on your phone. I run the calendar so your deposit is never casually at risk.

4. 4
   About 13 days

   Clear to close

   My closings average about 13 days from application. A mobile notary meets you; escrow records the next business day.

Transfer taxes and the other San Diego line items

California has no mortgage tax. The county documentary transfer tax is $1.10 per $1,000 of price and is customarily paid by the seller in San Diego County, though it is negotiable. Buyer closing costs typically run 2–5% of the price, and the two items that surprise San Diego buyers most are the supplemental property tax bill that arrives after closing (Prop 13 reassesses to your purchase price and prorates from the month after you close) and HOA dues in the condo-heavy neighborhoods. I put both in your payment estimate before you offer, not after.

Figures current as of September 2026. Loan limits, CalHFA terms, and market data change; I re-verify everything on your actual file.