For decades, the idea of a “starter home” was pretty easy to picture. A young couple bought a small single-family home. Maybe it needed some work. Maybe it only had two bedrooms and one bathroom. They lived there for several years, built equity, earned more money, and eventually moved into something larger. In much of California, that traditional path has become increasingly difficult. And that raises an important question: What if the California starter home isn’t dead? What

For years, renters have heard some version of the same advice: “Renting is throwing your money away.” I work in the mortgage industry, so you might expect me to agree with that statement. I don't. Buying a home can be one of the best long-term financial decisions someone makes. Homeownership can provide stability, potential appreciation, principal reduction and the opportunity to eventually own a significant asset outright. But that doesn't mean buying a home is always smarte

Buying a home in California has always required buyers to think carefully about price, location, property condition, taxes and financing. But there is another question that has become increasingly important: Can you actually insure the house? For years, homeowners insurance was often treated as one of the routine items buyers handled after getting into contract. You found the house, negotiated the purchase, completed inspections, worked through the mortgage process and ob

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

Many purchased or refinanced when mortgage rates were dramatically lower than today's market. At the same time, years of home-price appreciation have left longtime owners with substantial equity. A recent Realtor.com analysis estimates that the typical California homeowner has approximately $627,000 in home equity. That creates an obvious question: What if you need access to some of that equity but don't want to give up your existing first mortgage? For certain homeow

When people hear “California real estate,” affordable usually isn't the first word that comes to mind. San Francisco. Orange County. Los Angeles. San Jose. Marin. In many of California's best-known housing markets, buyers have become accustomed to home prices approaching — or easily exceeding — $1 million. But California isn't one housing market. Not even close. A recent affordability analysis ranked Porterville as the most affordable city in California, with a medi

A beautiful condo can have new flooring, an updated kitchen, a great location and a monthly payment that fits perfectly into your budget. Then you discover something that wasn't obvious during the showing. The homeowners association needs millions of dollars for major repairs, doesn't have enough money saved in reserves, and owners may be facing a substantial special assessment. That can change the economics of the purchase very quickly. This is why buying a condomini

Choosing the right mortgage lender in California involves much more than finding the company advertising the lowest interest rate. The right lender should be able to offer a competitive combination of rate and costs, recommend a loan program that actually fits your situation, accurately evaluate your qualifications before you make an offer, communicate clearly throughout the transaction, and successfully close the type of property you are buying. That last part matters mo

There was a time when earning $100,000 a year represented a fairly obvious financial milestone. You had reached six figures. You were doing well. Buying a home seemed like something that should naturally come next. For many Californians in 2026, that expectation collides with reality very quickly. You can have a good career, earn more money than you ever have before and still open Zillow and wonder how the math is supposed to work. That frustration isn't imaginary. Ac

What if your neighborhood grocery store became an 848-home residential development? That is essentially the conversation happening around San Francisco’s Marina Safeway. A proposed redevelopment of the site would replace the existing low-rise grocery property with a much larger mixed-use project containing 848 homes, including 86 affordable units, with buildings reaching up to 22 stories. A grocery store would remain part of the new development. Those numbers are attent

Homebuyers naturally gravitate toward new listings. A house hits the market Thursday, the photos look great, and by Saturday everyone wants to see it. That's understandable. But if I'm trying to find negotiating opportunities for a buyer, I also want to look in the opposite direction. Show me the houses nobody is talking about anymore. Show me the listing that's been sitting for 45 days. Show me the property that went pending and came back. Show me the house with

Getting pre-approved for a mortgage feels like you've crossed the finish line. Then you find a house, your offer gets accepted, the appraisal is completed, and suddenly closing day is right around the corner. That's usually when buyers start making plans. They shop for furniture. They look at appliances. They start moving money around. Maybe they decide it's finally time to buy a new car. And that's exactly when I want borrowers to become incredibly boring. A mortgage

If you feel like people are buying their first or next home later in life than they used to, you're not imagining it. A new Los Angeles Times analysis of Southern California housing data found something striking: The typical Southern California homebuyer was about 40 years old in 2005. Today, that buyer is around 45. Five years may not sound dramatic. But it says a lot about what has happened to homeownership in California over the last two decades. California Homeo

There’s an interesting shift happening in California housing right now: buyers aren’t necessarily giving up on homeownership. They’re changing the map. New Realtor.com data released August 25 found that 94.4% of home-shopping traffic originating in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro went to homes outside the area during the second quarter of 2026. That was the highest percentage among the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the country. And when you look at San Jose home

Should You Wait for Mortgage Rates to Drop Before Buying a Home? The Math Isn't That Simple “I'm going to wait until mortgage rates come down.” I hear some version of that constantly, and on the surface it makes perfect sense. A lower mortgage rate can reduce the monthly principal-and-interest payment on the same loan amount. If rates fall enough, a buyer who couldn't comfortably afford a particular home today may suddenly be able to make the numbers work. But there's a

Should You Put 20% Down on a House? Why a Bigger Down Payment Isn't Always Better For decades, one of the most common pieces of homebuying advice has been remarkably simple: save until you have a 20% down payment. Putting 20% down can reduce the amount you borrow, lower the monthly principal-and-interest payment and, on many conventional loans, avoid private mortgage insurance. Those are real advantages. But they don't mean 20% down is automatically the best financial dec

One of the first questions almost every mortgage borrower asks is, “What's the lowest interest rate I can get?” It's an understandable question. Your mortgage rate affects your monthly payment and the amount of interest you'll potentially pay over time, so naturally a lower number sounds better. The problem is that mortgage rates don't exist independently of cost. A lender may be able to offer several rate options on the same loan, with some requiring additional upfront dis

Mortgage markets received several encouraging economic reports this week. Inflation is showing signs of cooling. Employment is weakening. Wage growth has slowed. And now consumers appear to be pulling back. Normally, that combination would be exactly what mortgage borrowers want to see. So why aren't mortgage rates falling dramatically? The answer is that today's mortgage market is being influenced by two very different forces. ## Inflation Continues to Modera

Most buyers search for essentially the same house. They want the remodeled kitchen, updated bathrooms, newer flooring, fresh paint, good landscaping and a property they can move into without immediately spending another six months dealing with contractors. There is absolutely nothing wrong with wanting turnkey. The problem is that everybody else wants it too. A beautifully renovated property can attract more buyers and command a premium because someone else already dealt

Imagine finding a home you love and discovering something potentially even better than the house itself: the seller financed it several years ago with a mortgage rate in the 2% or 3% range. Your first question would probably be the same one I hear from buyers: “Can I just take over their mortgage?” Sometimes, the answer is yes. Certain mortgages are assumable, which means an eligible buyer may be able to take over the seller's existing mortgage obligation rather than obta