San Jose Mortgage Rates & Home Loans

The Silicon Valley market, honestly

Nowhere in the country are home prices higher than in Santa Clara County, and the market moves on its own logic: well-priced homes still draw competition, buyers routinely bring large down payments, and a big share of household income comes from stock rather than salary. In practice that means two things dominate San Jose financing, jumbo loans and the correct treatment of equity compensation, and getting both right is the whole job.

As a San Jose mortgage broker we shop many wholesale lenders instead of pushing one bank's product, which is exactly what a market this expensive and this equity-driven needs. The engineer whose base salary is a fraction of total comp, the couple buying a townhome as a first step, the family moving up in the foothills: each needs a different lender, and we know which.

Jumbo is the default here

In San Jose, jumbo is not a niche, it is the norm. Because prices are so high, most purchases exceed even California's elevated conforming limits, so the difference between jumbo lenders, on rate, on reserve requirements, on how much documentation they demand, matters enormously. We price your jumbo scenario across many lenders, including options for very large loan amounts and for strong borrowers who want lighter reserve requirements, so a Silicon Valley purchase gets truly competitive terms. See our jumbo loans.

RSUs and equity compensation

This is where San Jose files are won or lost. A large part of a tech compensation package is often RSUs, stock options, and bonuses, and lenders vary enormously in whether and how they count that income. Some ignore it, some count vested and vesting shares with the right history and documentation, which can dramatically change how much home you qualify for. We know the lenders that treat equity compensation favorably and exactly how to document vesting schedules and grant history, so your real earning power is on the table rather than left off.

First-time and move-up buyers

Even in the priciest market in the country, there are entry points, condos and townhomes in San Jose and the surrounding cities, and buyers who structure their down payment and loan carefully. For move-up buyers, timing the sale of a current home against the next purchase is often the real challenge, and we help structure around it, including bridge strategies where they make sense. We will show you the real payment and cash-to-close picture so a Silicon Valley purchase is a plan, not a leap.

Prop 13 and predictable taxes

One thing that is not unpredictable here is your property tax. California's Prop 13 sets it at roughly 1% of the purchase price with limited annual increases while you own, so once you know your price the tax is largely fixed, a rare bit of certainty in an expensive market. We build a realistic figure into your qualification alongside insurance so your San Jose payment is accurate.

Where we help across the South Bay

San Jose: Willow Glen, Almaden, Cambrian, Evergreen, Berryessa, and Downtown. West Valley: Cupertino, Campbell, Saratoga, and Los Gatos. North county: Santa Clara, Sunnyvale, Mountain View, and Milpitas. Nearby: the Fremont and southern Peninsula communities within reach of the Valley.

Whether it is a first townhome in Santa Clara, a jumbo home in Cupertino for the schools, or a move-up in Los Gatos, the right loan and lender differ for each, and comparing them is what we do.