This chapter helps you work out what a San Francisco home will really cost you each month, and how much cash you need on closing day. It's for anyone setting a budget, whether you're eyeing a $1.5M condo or a $3M house.
A lender will tell you the most you can borrow. That isn't the same as what you can comfortably afford. In SF, what usually holds buyers back is cash on hand rather than income: the down payment, money to cover a low appraisal, and the savings you have to show the lender after closing.
The short version
- At October 2026 rates (~7.6% jumbo), every $1M borrowed costs about $7,070/month in principal and interest. Property tax adds about $985/month per $1M of price.
- All-in monthly cost: about $10.9k for a $1.5M condo, $20.3k for a $3M house, and $36.4k for a $6M house (20–30% down, before maintenance).
- Jumbo lenders cap debt-to-income around 43%. A $3M house at 20% down needs roughly $570k of qualifying income with no other debt. That's the most a lender will allow, and it's usually more than you'd want to spend.
- Cash to close is more than the down payment: add ~1–1.5% closing costs, an appraisal-gap buffer (houses sell at ~124% of list), 6–12+ months of reserves, and your agent's fee (typically about 2.5% in SF) if the seller won't cover it.
- Budget for the supplemental property tax bill. It can be $20k–$30k on a $3M purchase, and your impound account won't pay it.
What goes into your monthly payment
Lenders call the core monthly cost PITI: principal, interest, taxes and insurance. Condos add HOA dues (the monthly fee paid to the homeowners association that runs the building). Then there are the costs lenders don't count, covered further down.
Property tax in SF is 1.18162182% of assessed value for FY 2026-27. Under Prop 13, California's property tax law, your assessed value starts at your purchase price minus the $7,000 homeowners' exemption, and it rises at most 2% a year after that. Every bill also carries roughly $800/yr of flat parcel taxes, and a few newer downtown buildings add Mello-Roos/CFD special taxes on top (extra taxes that pay for infrastructure in a specific district). See Taxes after you buy.
Principal and interest (P&I) moves a lot with the rate. Here's the P&I per $1M borrowed on a 30-year fixed:
| Rate | P&I per $1M / month | On a $2.4M loan |
|---|---|---|
| 6.00% | $5,996 | $14,389 |
| 6.50% | $6,321 | $15,170 |
| 7.00% | $6,653 | $15,967 |
| 7.64% (30-yr jumbo, Oct 5, 2026) | $7,088 | $17,012 |
| 8.00% | $7,338 | $17,610 |
Each half-point is about $340/month per $1M. Across the range from early 2026 (~6.3%) to today, that's roughly $2,000/month on a $2.4M loan.
Sample monthly costs at October 2026 rates
Some quick definitions first. A conforming loan is one under the federal loan limit; anything above that is a jumbo loan. An ARM (adjustable-rate mortgage) has a rate that's fixed for a set period and then can change; a 10/6 ARM is fixed for 10 years. DTI (debt-to-income ratio) is the share of your gross monthly income that goes to debt payments, including housing.
Assumptions: 30-year amortization unless noted. Conforming rate 7.54% and jumbo 7.64% (daily indices, Oct 5–6, 2026). The 10/6 ARM is 6.88%. Property tax is 1.1816% of price minus $7k. Insurance is a rough estimate (HO-6, the standard condo policy, for the condo). The rates are national daily averages; nobody publishes an SF-only jumbo rate, and SF jumbo borrowers can be quoted higher or lower depending on the lender, loan size and how much money they keep with the bank. "Income needed" is the gross income at which housing alone hits 43% DTI with zero other debt, which is the lender's ceiling.
| Scenario | Loan | Rate | P&I | Tax | Ins. | HOA | Total/mo | Down | Income @43% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $1.5M condo, 20% down (conforming) | $1,200,000 | 7.54% | $8,423 | $1,470 | $100 | $900 | $10,893 | $300k | ~$304k |
| $1.5M condo, 10% down (jumbo) | $1,350,000 | 7.64% | $9,569 | $1,470 | $100 | $900 | $12,039 | $150k | ~$336k |
| $3M house, 20% down, 30-yr fixed | $2,400,000 | 7.64% | $17,012 | $2,947 | $375 | — | $20,334 | $600k | ~$567k |
| $3M house, 20% down, 10/6 ARM | $2,400,000 | 6.88% | $15,774 | $2,947 | $375 | — | $19,096 | $600k | ~$533k |
| $6M house, 30% down, 30-yr fixed | $4,200,000 | 7.64% | $29,771 | $5,901 | $750 | — | $36,422 | $1.8M | ~$1.02M |
| $6M house, 30% down, relationship rate (−0.5) | $4,200,000 | 7.14% | $28,339 | $5,901 | $750 | — | $34,990 | $1.8M | ~$976k |
A $1.5M condo at 20% down sits just under the 2026 SF conforming limit of $1,249,125. That's why its rate differs from the 10%-down version, which crosses into jumbo. The "relationship rate" row assumes a discount some banks give if you keep assets with them. Insurance for large or older SF houses can run well above these placeholder amounts, so get real quotes. See Insurance & earthquakes.
Try your own numbers
Move the sliders. The loan switches from conforming to jumbo once it crosses $1,249,125, and the rate changes with it.
Calculator
Estimated monthly housing cost
$20,401
Jumbo loan · $2,400,000- Principal & interest
- $17,012
- Property tax
- $3,014
- Insurance (est.)
- $375
- HOA
- $0
Income lenders want (43% DTI, no other debt)
$569,320 /yr
Cash to close (down + ~1.5%)
$645,000
Estimates only. Excludes earthquake insurance, maintenance, supplemental tax bill and reserves. Insurance assumed at ~0.15% of price/yr for houses. Rates are national averages from early October 2026.
The costs lenders don't count
| Item | Typical size | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Maintenance & repairs | ~1%/yr of value for houses (a national rule of thumb) | $3M house ≈ $2,500/mo averaged. There's no published SF figure. Land is most of an SF price, which argues for less, but old Victorians and Edwardians and high local labor costs often push it higher. See the contractor index. |
| Earthquake insurance | Often several $k/yr; much more for large or older homes | Optional. CEA deductibles of 15–25% are common on $1M+ dwelling coverage. |
| Utilities | $300–800/mo | Old SF houses are drafty. |
| Parcel taxes | ~$800/yr | On every SF tax bill. |
| Seismic / deferred work | $10k–$100k+ one-time | Foundation bolting, cripple walls, knob-and-tube. Ask a seismic retrofit contractor → for a quote during the inspection period. |
The CEA is the California Earthquake Authority, which writes most quake policies in the state. For a $3M house, the true monthly cost lands around $23–25k once maintenance and quake coverage are included, compared with the $20.3k the lender looks at.
Cash to close: often the real limit
For a $3M house at 20% down, here's how much cash you need ready:
| Bucket | Amount | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Down payment | $600,000 | 20% of price |
| Closing costs | ~$30,000–$45,000 | ~1–1.5% in SF: title, escrow, lender fees, prepaids. More if you fund impounds or buy points. Sellers customarily pay the city transfer tax. See Escrow to keys. |
| Appraisal-gap buffer | $0–$300,000+ | If you win at $3M and the appraisal says $2.75M, you cover the $250k gap in cash. Non-contingent offers make this real money. |
| Reserves (shown, not spent) | ~$120,000–$245,000+ | 6–12 months of PITI. Jumbo lenders often want 12–24 months on $2M+ loans. |
| Supplemental tax bill (months later) | ~$20,000–$30,000 | Explained below |
| Buyer's-agent commission | $0–$75,000 | About 2.5% in SF, per local agents. $0 if the seller covers it; whatever the seller doesn't pay is yours under your buyer agreement. See Assembling your team. |
| Total liquidity to line up | ~$800k–$1.3M | For a "$600k down payment" purchase |
A few of those terms: prepaids are interest, insurance and taxes you pay ahead at closing. An impound (or escrow) account is where your lender collects taxes and insurance monthly and pays them for you. Points are upfront fees you can pay to lower your rate. The appraisal gap is the difference between your price and the lender's appraisal, which you pay in cash; a non-contingent offer means you can't back out if the appraisal comes in low. Reserves are savings the lender wants to see left over after closing.
Lenders often count retirement accounts toward reserves at 60–70% of value, and vested stock in a public company at about 70%. Stock you can't sell yet, or stock in a private company, counts for zero.
The supplemental tax bill
When you buy, the Assessor resets the assessed value to your price and sends a one-time supplemental bill for the difference, prorated for the rest of the fiscal year. Say you buy a $3M house from a long-time owner assessed at $500k. The difference is $2.5M × 1.18% ≈ $29.5k for a full year. It arrives months after closing, and your lender's impound account typically won't pay it. Set the money aside from the start.
How much house does an income buy?
Working backward from a 43% DTI ceiling at 7.64% with 20% down, before you add other debts:
| Gross qualifying income | Max housing payment (43%) | Approx. max price at 20% down |
|---|---|---|
| $300,000 | $10,750/mo | ~$1.6M |
| $500,000 | $17,900/mo | ~$2.6M |
| $750,000 | $26,900/mo | ~$4.0M |
| $1,000,000 | $35,800/mo | ~$5.3M |
These figures are rough. They assume 20% down on every row (many lenders want 25–30% above ~$3M) and ignore insurance differences. They're also maximums. Your accountant, your partner, and your own peace of mind may point to a lower number.
Down payment: 10%, 20%, or more?
- Under 20% on a conforming loan means PMI (private mortgage insurance, roughly 0.2–1.0%/yr). It drops off at 78–80% LTV (loan-to-value, your loan as a share of the home's value).
- Jumbo at 10% down is available from many lenders up to ~$2–3M with no separate PMI. The lender charges for the extra risk through the rate instead, often +0.125–0.5%.
- Above ~$3M, expect 20–30% minimum, and 30–40% at $5M+ at many lenders.
- Every dollar you don't borrow at 7.6% saves you 7.6% a year in interest. Only the first $750k of acquisition debt gets a federal interest deduction. The 2026 SALT cap (the limit on deducting state and local taxes) of $40,400 phases down to $10k once MAGI (modified adjusted gross income) passes about $606k, which covers many buyers here. So most of that interest isn't deductible, and a bigger down payment looks better than it did when rates were 3%. On the other side: you keep less cash on hand, more of your money sits in one asset, and you may owe capital-gains tax on whatever you sell to free up the cash. A CPA and a fee-only planner can tell you which way the math tips for you.
A quick self-assessment
- Work out P&I at today's jumbo rate (~7.6%), not at the rate you hope to refinance into.
- Add property tax at ~1.18% of price, insurance quotes, HOA, and ~1%/yr maintenance for houses.
- List your cash and savings separately from stock you can't sell yet. Only the first counts at closing.
- Add up the cash to close: down payment + ~1–1.5% closing + appraisal-gap buffer + reserves + any agent commission (~2.5% in SF) the seller won't cover.
- Set aside the supplemental property tax bill.
- Ask a lender how they'll treat your bonus, any RSUs, and any loan against your investments before you set a budget.
Next: Turning equity into a down payment
Sources & verification›
- Secured property taxes (FY 2026-27 rate) — SF Treasurer & Tax Collector, 2026
- Learn about supplemental assessments — City & County of San Francisco
- Parcel tax exemptions and special assessments — SF Treasurer
- California conforming loan limits 2026 — JVM Lending, 2026
- Mortgage rates today, Oct. 5, 2026 — Fortune / Mortgage Research Center, Oct 5, 2026
- Current mortgage rates, Oct. 6, 2026 — Fortune, Oct 6, 2026
- Current ARM mortgage rates — Fortune, Sept 30, 2026
- Jumbo loans with low down payment and no mortgage insurance — The Mortgage Reports
- Jumbo loan rates California — JVM Lending, Mar 2026
- Restricted stock units and restricted stock employment income (B3-3.3-07) — Fannie Mae, updated Mar 4, 2026
- Closing costs in San Francisco: who pays what — The Lederer Team
- Supplemental taxes — Legacy SF Homes
- CEA homeowners policies — California Earthquake Authority