Buying in San Francisco Bay Area: the full guide

What homes cost

The California Association of Realtors reported these medians for existing single-family detached houses in August 2026. The Bay Area region as a whole had a median of $1,272,000, down 0.2% on a year earlier, with homes selling in 22 days. The statewide median was $901,420.

Two cautions. A county median moves with the mix of homes sold in a month, so use these as a guide rather than a trend. And the county table covers houses only. A large part of San Francisco's market is flats, which sell for less. The only condominium and townhouse figure in the same release is the statewide median of $640,000, which tells you little about San Francisco. Ask an agent for recent sales in the building or street you are considering. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 6.67% in August 2026, according to the same release.

Property tax: Proposition 13 resets at your purchase price

This is the feature of California that surprises Europeans most. Under Proposition 13 the tax rate is 1% of assessed value, plus whatever is needed to repay bonds that local voters approved, and that addition varies from area to area within a county. The assessed value is not today's market value. It is the market value at the last change of ownership, plus an annual increase of no more than 2%. When you buy, the county assessor reassesses the home to its value on the date of the sale. Two neighbouring houses can therefore carry very different bills.

San Francisco's combined rate for the fiscal year ending June 2026 was 1.18268%. On a house bought at the county median of $1,875,000 that is about $22,175 a year, by our arithmetic. Owners who live in the home as their principal residence can claim the homeowners' exemption, which takes $7,000 off the taxable value. At San Francisco's rate that is worth about $83 a year.

The new value takes effect on the date of the sale, not at the next 1 January, so the county sends a supplemental bill for the rest of the fiscal year. For a purchase between 1 January and 31 May there are two supplemental assessments, the second covering the whole of the next fiscal year. They arrive separately from your regular bill, so set money aside. Regular bills come in two instalments, due 1 November and 1 February, and become delinquent after 10 December and 10 April, with a 10% penalty.

Some newer developments also carry a Mello-Roos special tax, which pays for public facilities and services through a community facilities district and appears on the property tax bill. State law requires the seller to make a good faith effort to obtain a disclosure notice from the district and give it to you, so ask for it, with the amount and the end date.

Financing: jumbo loans and stock pay

The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home is $1,249,125 in San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. In Solano County it is $832,750. With 20% down, the limit supports a purchase price of up to about $1,561,000, by our arithmetic. The August 2026 median house price was above that in San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. At the San Francisco median, a buyer with 20% down borrows $1,500,000, which is a jumbo loan. In Alameda County the median of $1,285,000 gives a loan of $1,028,000, inside the limit.

A jumbo loan is outside the standard rules, so each lender sets its own terms for down payment, reserves and documentation. Compare several, and ask each how it treats your visa and your income. Funds for the down payment and your lack of a US credit score are covered in our guides on cash to close and buying without a US credit score.

Stock compensation is the point most specific to this region. Fannie Mae's guide, which sets the rules for standard loans and which jumbo lenders do not have to follow, allows restricted stock units to count as income only if the shares have vested and been distributed to you without restrictions. An award given as a sign-on bonus is not eligible. A time-based award needs at least 12 months with the current employer, and a one-off award must show that vesting continues for at least three years from the date of the loan. The income is calculated as the 200-day average share price times the shares distributed over 24 months, divided by 24, and the lender must see that the employer is publicly traded. For a newly arrived employee, that can mean salary counts and a large share package does not, at least in the first year.

How closing works in California

California closes through escrow, not through a notary or an attorney. An escrow holder, a neutral third party, receives the funds and documents and holds them until every condition in the contract has been met, then records the deed. The escrow holder may be an independent escrow company, a title company or, especially in southern California, a broker. The escrow officer is not an attorney and cannot give legal advice. Your negotiating and your advice come from your own agent and, if you want one, your own lawyer.

Escrow fees are not set by law. It is customary to split them between buyer and seller, but the custom differs between northern and southern California, so ask your agent which applies. Other closing costs sit alongside: loan fees, title and recording charges, documentary transfer taxes, prepaid property tax and insurance. Ask the escrow officer which transfer taxes apply to the address. The estimate of costs appears on the closing statement before you close.

The seller has to give you disclosures. These include a natural hazard disclosure covering special flood hazard areas, state responsibility areas for fire protection and earthquake fault zones, the Mello-Roos notice, and, for a one to four unit house built before 1 January 1960 with a light timber frame, the state's earthquake safety booklet and a statement of any known weaknesses. Those weaknesses include missing foundation anchor bolts, unbraced cripple walls, and a habitable room above a garage.

Earthquake, wildfire and insurance

The US Geological Survey's 2014 forecast put the chance of at least one earthquake of magnitude 6.7 or larger somewhere in the Bay region before 2043 at 72%. For the Hayward or Rodgers Creek faults the figure was 33%, and for the San Andreas fault 22%.

Earthquake damage is not covered by a standard California homeowners policy in most cases. The California Earthquake Authority sells a separate policy with a deductible of 5%, 10%, 15%, 20% or 25% of the dwelling cover. Homes with dwelling cover above $1,000,000, and homes built before 1980 on a raised foundation without a verified retrofit, can choose only 15%, 20% or 25%. A 15% deductible on $1,000,000 of cover is $150,000, so the policy is protection against a catastrophe, not against repairs.

Wildfire exposure is greatest in wooded hill areas. The California Department of Insurance describes the FAIR Plan, the state's insurer of last resort, as giving limited cover for fire and smoke, so that you buy another policy for water damage, liability and other risks. The department also says insurers must give discounts to owners who reduce wildfire risk. Get insurance quotes for the exact address before you commit, and ask whether the house is in a state responsibility area.

Flats, condominiums and tenancies in common

In San Francisco in particular, many homes are flats. A condominium gives you title to your unit and a share of the common areas, run by an owners' association. Ask for the budget, the reserve fund, recent meeting minutes, any planned special assessment, and what the building's insurance covers, including whether earthquake damage is included. Lenders look at the building as well as at you, so a poorly run association can limit your options.

Some San Francisco flats are owned instead as a tenancy in common, where you co-own the whole building with the others and a co-ownership agreement decides who uses which unit. That is not the same as owning a condominium. Ask any lender early whether it lends on a share in that building, and have a lawyer read the agreement.

If you plan to let it

San Francisco's short-term rental rules are narrow. Only the permanent resident of a unit can register it. You must live there at least 275 nights a year and have lived there for at least 60 consecutive days before applying, and you may let the whole home unhosted for at most 90 nights a year. You need a city business registration and liability insurance of at least $500,000, and only one unit, the one you live in, can be registered. Below-market-rate units, single-room-occupancy units and accessory dwelling units are among those that cannot be let short-term. A flat that stands empty while you are in Europe cannot be registered.

Longer lets follow tenancy law, and San Francisco has rent-controlled units, which carry their own limits, including on short-term letting by the occupier. If a building has tenants, ask an attorney what rights they have before you make an offer. Other Bay Area cities set their own short-term rental and rent rules, which we have not checked, so confirm them for the city before you offer.

Tax if you live in Europe

The United States taxes rent from a home that a non-resident owns at 30% of the gross amount, or at a lower treaty rate. You can instead elect to treat the income as effectively connected, deduct costs, and be taxed on the net at graduated rates. For a home with a mortgage and running costs the election usually matters a great deal, and it needs to be made on time.

When a foreign person sells US real property, the buyer generally has to withhold 15% of the amount realised, with exceptions in particular cases. Federal estate tax can also reach US real estate owned by a non-resident who is not a US citizen. The executor must file a return if US-situated assets exceed $60,000 at death, and a treaty between the United States and your country may change the result. California also has its own taxes on property in the state. Ask a cross-border tax adviser about all of it before you buy, not after.

Getting home

San Francisco International lists nonstop flights, as of September 2026, to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Dublin, Frankfurt, Lisbon, London Heathrow, Munich, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Paris Orly, Rome, Warsaw and Zurich, with Barcelona, Madrid and Terceira marked seasonal. The airport also lists Istanbul. On the page we read in October 2026, San Jose's airport listed nonstop domestic, Mexican and Tokyo routes and none in Europe, so most flights home from Silicon Valley mean SFO or a connection elsewhere.

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