Imagine you've owned your California home for 20, 30 or even 40 years. You bought it when prices were dramatically lower. Over the decades, the home's value climbed — perhaps to $1 million, $1.5 million or considerably more. But thanks to California's Proposition 13, your property's taxable value may still be far below its current market value. Now you want to move. Maybe you want to downsize. Maybe you want to leave the Bay Area for a less expensive part of Califor

Buying a home in Petaluma can put you into jumbo-loan territory faster than you might expect. For 2026, the conforming loan limit for a one-unit property in Sonoma County is $897,000. That means a conventional first mortgage above $897,000 generally falls outside standard conforming limits and may require jumbo financing or another loan structure. But here's the important part: jumbo does not necessarily mean difficult, and it does not automatically mean a worse mortgage.

If you're buying an expensive home in San Francisco, you may need a jumbo mortgage — but probably not as quickly as you think. For 2026, the conforming loan limit for a one-unit property in San Francisco County is $1,249,125. That means there are really three financing ranges San Francisco buyers should understand: 1. Conforming financing up to the national baseline limit. 2. High-balance conforming financing above the national baseline but within San Francisco County's