Jumbo loans in California.
A jumbo loan is a home loan above the conforming loan limit for the county the home is in. For 2026 that limit runs from $832,750 to $1,249,125 for a one-unit home in California, depending on the county (source: FHFA), and it is higher for a home with two, three or four units. Above the limit, each lender sets its own rules.
Sam Batayneh is a mortgage loan originator (NMLS 332474) and VP of Mortgage Lending at OriginPoint (NMLS 1598647). Sam has originated mortgages since 2004 and lends in all of California. Jumbo loans are Sam’s focus.
What is a jumbo loan?
A jumbo loan is a home loan that is larger than the conforming limit where the home is. The loan amount decides it, not the price of the home.
Many home loans in the United States are sold, after closing, to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. Those two companies can only buy loans up to a size that the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets each year, county by county. A loan inside that size is a conforming loan. A loan above it is a jumbo loan.
The line is drawn by the loan amount. A home that costs more than the county’s limit can still be bought with a conforming loan when the down payment brings the loan under the limit. The line also moves with the county and with the number of units in the home, which is why the same loan amount can be conforming in Los Angeles County and jumbo in Riverside County.
Because nobody outside the lender writes the rules for a jumbo loan, lenders differ. One counts stock income that another leaves out. One asks for more savings after closing, or for a second appraisal. Reading those differences before you make an offer is a large part of the work on a jumbo loan, and it is the work Sam does.
A jumbo loan is repaid like any other mortgage. It comes with a fixed rate or an adjustable rate, and you pay it monthly. What changes is who sets the rules and how closely the file is read.
How is a jumbo loan different from a conforming or high-balance loan?
By size, and by who writes the rules. A conforming loan and a high-balance conforming loan both follow Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. A jumbo loan follows the lender that makes it.
Conforming
A loan at or under the national baseline, which is $832,750 for a one-unit home in 2026. It follows Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac rules, so most lenders read it the same way.
High-balance conforming
In a county where FHFA has set a higher limit, a loan above the baseline and at or under that county’s limit. It is still a conforming loan. In California the county limit goes as high as $1,249,125 for a one-unit home.
Jumbo
A loan above the county’s limit. No national rulebook applies: each lender writes its own, and reads income, savings, credit and the home itself more closely.
Two examples from the 2026 figures. In San Diego County the one-unit limit is $1,104,000, so a loan between $832,750 and $1,104,000 is a high-balance conforming loan there, and a loan above $1,104,000 is a jumbo loan. In Sacramento County the limit is the baseline, $832,750: there is no high-balance band, and a loan above that figure is a jumbo loan.
OriginPoint also has an Expanded Loan Amount Conforming program, for loans just above the limit. High-balance conforming loans on the Loan options page.
Limits: FHFA’s 2026 county loan limit file, one-unit homes, read November 11, 2026. These are published limits, not an offer of any loan amount.
What are the 2026 loan limits in California, by number of units?
The limit depends on the county and on how many units the home has. A loan above the figure for your county and your number of units is a jumbo loan.
Updated: November 11, 2026. Source: FHFA, Full County Loan Limit List 2026, read November 11, 2026.
| Counties | 1 unit | 2 units | 3 units | 4 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Orange, San Benito, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz countiesThe high-cost ceiling | $1,249,125 | $1,599,375 | $1,933,200 | $2,402,625 |
| San Diego County | $1,104,000 | $1,413,350 | $1,708,400 | $2,123,100 |
| Ventura County | $1,035,000 | $1,325,000 | $1,601,600 | $1,990,450 |
| Napa County | $1,017,750 | $1,302,900 | $1,574,900 | $1,957,250 |
| San Luis Obispo County | $1,000,500 | $1,280,850 | $1,548,250 | $1,924,100 |
| Monterey County | $994,750 | $1,273,450 | $1,539,350 | $1,913,000 |
| Santa Barbara County | $941,850 | $1,205,750 | $1,457,450 | $1,811,300 |
| Sonoma County | $897,000 | $1,148,350 | $1,388,050 | $1,725,050 |
| All other California counties (41)The national baseline | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
2026 conforming loan limits, source: FHFA (read November 11, 2026). 10 California counties are at the high-cost ceiling, 41 are at the national baseline and 7 are in between. These are conforming limits only; FHA limits are set by HUD and can be lower. Limits change each January, and the 2027 figures are expected in late November 2026. These are published limits, not an offer of any loan amount.
Every California county, one by one, on the Loan limits page
What do lenders look at on a jumbo loan?
The same four things as on any home loan (income, savings, credit and the home), read more closely. Each lender sets its own rules, so this is a general list, not OriginPoint’s requirements.
- Income. Pay stubs and W-2s for salaried work, or tax returns for self-employment, usually covering about the past two years. Stock, bonus, contract and royalty income is read by its history and by whether it is likely to continue.
- Reserves. The savings you will still have after the down payment and closing costs are paid. Jumbo lenders often measure them against the new monthly housing cost, and often ask for more as the loan gets larger.
- Assets. Recent statements for bank, brokerage and retirement accounts, showing where the down payment comes from. A large recent deposit usually needs papers that show its source.
- Credit. Your credit history, and your monthly debts measured against your income. Each lender sets its own standard.
- The appraisal. An appraiser’s opinion of the home’s value. On larger loans some lenders ask for a second appraisal, and an unusual home can take longer to value because there are fewer similar sales to compare it with.
- The property. How you will use the home (a main home, a second home or a rental) and what kind of home it is. With a condo, the lender reviews the building as well as the buyer.
How does a jumbo loan work with stock, contract or project income?
The loan is the same. What differs is how a lender reads the income behind it. Each of these pages explains one kind, in general terms.
Jumbo loans with RSU and stock income
A large part of the pay arrives as restricted stock, not salary. Lenders generally look at how long the stock income has been received, what is still scheduled to vest and a recent share price.
How stock income is countedJumbo loans with contract income
A contract is not a salary. Lenders read the contract itself: what it commits to pay, how much time is left on it, and the savings left after closing.
How contract income is countedJumbo loans with 1099 and royalty income
Income from film, television, music and online work often comes from many payers and changes from year to year. Lenders usually work from an average of about two years of tax returns, after business expenses.
How 1099 and royalty income is countedJumbo loans with bonus and deferred pay
Bonuses, deferred compensation and restricted stock can outweigh base salary. Lenders look at the history of each kind of pay and at what the employer’s papers say about it continuing.
How bonus and deferred pay is countedPaid another way? Self-employed and business owners, second-home and vacation-home buyers, real estate investors and every kind of home buyer each have a page too.
What kinds of jumbo loan are there?
OriginPoint lists fixed-rate, adjustable-rate and interest-only jumbo options, for main homes, second homes and investment properties, condos included, and for a purchase, a rate-and-term refinance or a cash-out refinance. Each has its own guidelines.
Program names are OriginPoint’s. Which one fits depends on your own file, and naming a program here is not a promise that a loan will be approved. OriginPoint publishes its own conditions and disclosures for each program, and those apply in full: ask Sam for them.
Plain answers about jumbo loans.
What is a jumbo loan in California?
What is the difference between a jumbo loan and a conforming loan?
What credit score do lenders usually look at for a jumbo loan?
How much do you need to put down on a jumbo loan?
Can a larger down payment keep a loan from being a jumbo loan?
General education only. Each lender sets its own rules, and they change. Nothing here is a promise that a loan will be approved or of any terms. This is not tax, legal or investment advice: for those questions, ask your own CPA, attorney or business manager.
Where does a loan become jumbo near you?
At the county’s own limit. Each of these pages has that county’s 2026 figure and what is different about buying there.
Is your loan jumbo?
Tell Sam the price, the down payment and the county. Sam will show you which side of the line the loan is on, and what each side asks for.