Golden Gate Bridge red tower and suspension cables against a blue sky above San Francisco Bay

Buying a home in
Bay Area

Q: Can I get a mortgage in the Bay Area on a work visa and a new job?

Often, yes, but the lender decides how much of your pay counts. Our guide to H-1B, L-1 and O-1 visas explains how your status is checked. The Bay Area complication is stock pay. Under Fannie Mae's rules, restricted stock units count as income only once they have vested and been distributed to you, a time-based award needs at least 12 months with the current employer, and an award given as a sign-on bonus is excluded. Jumbo lenders set their own rules, so ask each one how it treats stock before you apply.

Q: Will I need a jumbo loan?

Probably, for a house in San Francisco, San Mateo or Santa Clara County. The 2026 conforming limit for one unit is $1,249,125 there, and the August 2026 median house prices were $1,875,000, $2,250,000 and $1,900,000. With 20% down on the San Francisco median you would borrow $1,500,000. In Alameda County the median was $1,285,000, which with 20% down is a loan of $1,028,000, inside the limit. Jumbo loans follow each lender's own rules, so compare several.

Q: Why is my tax bill so much higher than my neighbour's?

Because California taxes the value fixed at the last sale, not today's market value. Proposition 13 sets the assessed value when a home changes hands and lets it rise by at most 2% a year after that, so a neighbour who bought long ago can pay far less. After you buy, the county reassesses to market value and sends a supplemental bill for the rest of that fiscal year. At San Francisco's rate for the year ending June 2026, a $1,875,000 purchase carries about $22,175 a year before exemptions.

Q: Does home insurance cover earthquakes?

In most cases, no. A standard California homeowners policy leaves earthquake damage out, so you buy a separate policy, often through the California Earthquake Authority, with a deductible of 5% to 25% of the dwelling cover. Homes with dwelling cover above $1,000,000, and older raised-foundation homes without a verified retrofit, can choose only 15%, 20% or 25%. A 15% deductible on $1,000,000 of cover is $150,000. Get a quote before you commit to a purchase.

Q: Can I let my San Francisco flat on Airbnb while I am in Europe?

Not unless it is your own permanent home. San Francisco lets only the permanent resident of a unit register it for short-term rental. You must live there at least 275 nights a year and may let it unhosted for at most 90 nights a year. You also need a city business registration and liability insurance of at least $500,000. A flat that stands empty while you are in Europe cannot be registered. Other Bay Area cities set their own rules, so check the city before you offer.

The Bay Area is where many Europeans arrive on a technology contract and meet the most expensive housing in the country. The usual tools still work, but prices push most house purchases past the standard loan limit, and Proposition 13 and earthquake risk change what ownership really costs.

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Everything about buying in San Francisco Bay Area

Short answers on this page. The full guide has the detail, the figures and the sources.

The purchase and the loan

How a purchase runs here and which loans fit.

What homes cost
Financing: jumbo loans and stock pay
How closing works in California
Flats, condominiums and tenancies in common

Prices, taxes and insurance

What homes cost and what you pay on top.

Property tax: Proposition 13 resets at your purchase price
Earthquake, wildfire and insurance
Tax if you live in Europe

Letting and living

Rental rules, local life and how to get there.

If you plan to let it
Getting home

Read the full guide

Who moves here from Europe

The Bay Area is where technology employers in San Francisco, along the Peninsula and around San Jose recruit internationally, and many European arrivals come on temporary work visas. A typical arrival holds an H-1B, L-1 or O-1 visa, is paid in a mix of salary, bonus and company shares, and has no US credit history. That household can obtain a conventional mortgage, but it takes preparation, and the way a lender counts share awards matters more here than almost anywhere else. See how your visa decides the loan.

"The Bay Area" is also several markets. San Francisco is a dense city where flats are common. On the Peninsula, in San Mateo County, and in Silicon Valley, in Santa Clara County, median house prices were $2,250,000 and $1,900,000 in August 2026. The East Bay, in Alameda and Contra Costa counties, is cheaper.

Victorian houses along a sunlit hillside street in San Francisco, California

The Bay Area at a glance

Figures last checked: 4 October 2026

This is not a lending decision: a US specialist confirms what applies to your own situation.

Median sale price	Existing single-family houses, August 2026: San Francisco $1,875,000, Santa Clara $1,900,000, San Mateo $2,250,000, Alameda $1,285,000 (California Association of Realtors).
Loan limit 2026	$1,249,125 for a one-unit home in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties (FHFA). Above that is a jumbo loan.
Property tax	San Francisco combined rate 1.18268% of assessed value for the fiscal year ending June 2026. Assessed value resets to market value at a sale, then rises by at most 2% a year (San Francisco Board of Supervisors; State Board of Equalization).
Earthquake risk	72% chance of at least one magnitude 6.7 or larger earthquake in the Bay region before 2043 (USGS, 2014 forecast). A standard homeowners policy does not cover it in most cases (California Earthquake Authority).
Short-term rental	San Francisco: only for the permanent resident of the unit, who must live there 275 nights a year and may let it unhosted for at most 90 nights (San Francisco Planning, read October 2026).
Flights home	Nonstop from SFO to 15 European airports, 3 of them seasonal (SFO, as of September 2026). San Jose lists none in Europe.

Sandstone arcades and palm trees around the quad at Stanford University on a sunny day

Oakland skyline and San Francisco Bay seen from a green hillside above the city

Pond with ducks and a bench in a landscaped garden in Golden Gate Park, San Francisco

Row of colorful Painted Ladies Victorian houses with the San Francisco skyline behind them

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Before you make an offer in the Bay Area

Get a pre-approval from a lender that handles jumbo loans and your visa, and ask how it counts restricted stock.
Compare the loan with the $1,249,125 conforming limit for the county.
Estimate property tax at your purchase price and the local rate, and set aside the supplemental bill.
Ask whether the home is in a Mello-Roos district and request the notice.
Read the natural hazard disclosure for earthquake fault zones, flood zones and state responsibility areas for fire.
For a house built before 1960, read the statement on anchor bolts, cripple walls and rooms above a garage.
Get quotes for earthquake and fire insurance before you commit, and note the deductible.
For a flat, read the association's budget and minutes and the building's insurance, and ask whether the lender will lend on that building.
Do not count on short-term rental income for a home you do not live in.
Ask a cross-border tax adviser about the net-income election and estate tax before you buy.

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Questions people moving from Europe ask

Can I get a mortgage in the Bay Area on a work visa and a new job?

Will I need a jumbo loan?

Why is my tax bill so much higher than my neighbour's?

Does home insurance cover earthquakes?

Can I let my San Francisco flat on Airbnb while I am in Europe?

Continue your research

Sources (16)

Figures and rules on this page were checked against these sources on 4 October 2026. Rates, prices and local rules change, so confirm anything you rely on before you commit.

Buying a home inBay Area