Condos here run well under the conforming limit. Single-family homes often don't — and with bidding wars pushing sale prices well above asking, even a home listed under the limit can close above it. Here's the real, current picture, neighborhood by neighborhood.
San Francisco's median home price hit a record $2.15 million in 2026, driven directly by AI-industry wealth — nine San Francisco homes sold more than $2 million over asking in just the first four months of the year. As SF becomes unaffordable even for high earners, Daly City has long been the answer Bay Area buyers reach for next. That spillover is a real part of why competition here has intensified.
This isn't a minor detail — it changes what "the median price" actually means for your pre-approval. A home can be listed comfortably under the conforming limit and still close above it once a real bidding war happens.
Daly City isn't one market. Depending on what you're buying, jumbo financing is either very unlikely or genuinely common:
| Property type | Typical price range | Jumbo likelihood |
|---|---|---|
| Condos / attached homes | ~$700,000-$730,000 median | Very low — well under the conforming limit |
| Single-family homes (citywide) | ~$1,225,000-$1,350,000 median | Real possibility — at or above the $1,249,125 limit |
If you're shopping for a single-family home specifically, don't assume you're safely under the jumbo threshold — recent MLS data puts the citywide single-family median above the conforming limit, before even accounting for a competitive bid pushing the final price higher.
| Neighborhood | What the data shows |
|---|---|
| Westlake | Median around $1.3M+ — the classic postwar Daly City tract, now consistently in jumbo territory |
| Serramonte | Condo-heavy, median around $700K-$750K — usually well under the limit |
| Original Daly City | Around $1M-$1.2M — right at the edge, where a competitive bid can matter most |
| Crocker | Turnkey single-family homes have been selling under $1M — one of the more attainable pockets left |
Knowing which neighborhood you're actually shopping in tells you far more than a citywide average ever will.
Say a single-family home is listed at $1,200,000 — comfortably under the conforming limit. At the current average of 9% over asking, it sells for $1,308,000. That's a real, common outcome here, not a worst case.
A buyer pre-approved only against the $1,200,000 list price would need roughly $86,000 more in loan amount than planned once the home actually closes — and would find out mid-negotiation, not before. Getting pre-approved with enough room to cover a realistic winning bid, not just the list price, is genuinely one of the most useful things a buyer can do here before making an offer.
Here's the actual gap worth knowing about, using real local numbers rather than a general assumption.
This is exactly the situation self-employed and alternative-income qualification exists to solve. If your real cash flow — through a business, investments, or other non-W-2 income — is stronger than what a standard tax return shows, that gap between guideline-income and median-income is precisely where documentation flexibility matters most.
| Your situation | Likely program |
|---|---|
| Buying a condo, W-2 income | Conventional or FHA — condos here rarely require jumbo |
| Buying a single-family home | Could go either way — get pre-approved for both conforming and jumbo scenarios given how often bids land above the limit |
| Self-employed, tax returns understate real income | Bank statement or P&L programs — relevant regardless of property type |
| Substantial assets, irregular income | Asset depletion |
Given how common this actually is here — especially for single-family homes and especially after a competitive bid — it's worth understanding the process before you're mid-negotiation. It changes meaningfully from conforming financing: different reserve requirements, sometimes a second appraisal, and different rate pricing.
No credit pull, no personal info required to start — see your real numbers, then talk to me directly about your specific purchase.
Prefer to talk first? Call or text (415) 610-7999 — you'll reach Loi directly, not a call center.