Merced, CA
Buy your first Merced home with confidence.
Real Merced prices, real programs — FHA, first-time-buyer, down-payment-assistance — matched to what your Merced file qualifies for, in North Merced and citywide.
Can a mortgage broker help me buy in Merced, CA?
Yes. Choice Home Mortgage is a family-owned California mortgage broker serving Merced, licensed under NMLS #2629064 and CA DRE #01822046, and it places purchase and refinance loans with whichever of many lenders fits the Merced file best. Esther Buede, the owner, is the person you talk to.
For 2026, a one-unit Merced home can carry a conforming loan of up to $832,750, the Merced County limit FHFA sets, and we check where your Merced price falls before you write an offer. The whole process runs by phone and online.
How Merced buyers reach closing in Merced.
Merced is the only Central Valley city home to a UC campus — UC Merced — still in a multi-decade buildout, creating structural demand from faculty, staff, and student-adjacent households that insulates it from pure agricultural cycles; housing remains among the most affordable in California.
That Merced market shapes the loan. Merced follows Merced County’s national-baseline limit for 2026: $832,750 on a one-unit Merced home. Most Merced purchases sit comfortably under that $832,750 line, keeping conventional, FHA, and USDA open for Merced buyers. Merced’s price tier is entry-level. Limits per FHFA 2026; verify your scenario with us.
2026 loan limits checked against FHFA’s county file; this page was last updated October 13, 2026.
Roughly 81,000-plus people call Merced home, spread from North Merced to Downtown Merced, with Turlock and Ceres minutes away. We work Merced from the ground up — close to UC Merced and Lake Yosemite. Buyers come to us from North Merced, Ragsdale, Bellevue Ranch, and Downtown Merced, and from every other part of Merced. Need a broker near you in Merced? Everything runs by phone and online, so Merced expertise comes straight to you.
What you get with a local broker.
Merced market knowledge
North Merced, Ragsdale, Bellevue Ranch, over to UC Merced and Lake Yosemite — Merced's pockets price differently, and the right program follows the pocket.
First-time & assistance
FHA, first-time-buyer, down-payment-assistance carry most Merced purchases — and we check every assistance program a Merced file qualifies for.
Lenders shopped for you
Your Merced file gets shopped across many lenders — a broker working Merced, not one bank's sales desk.
Owner-handled
Your Merced file is handled by owner Esther Buede herself — in Merced or Turlock, hers is the name buyers recognize from our reviews.
One name on every Merced loan.
Every Merced file lands on one desk: owner Esther Buede’s (individual NMLS #2003644). She’ll know your Merced plans — Ragsdale or anywhere Merced — and your name from the first call. Choice Home Mortgage has closed loans since 2005. Meet the family behind CHM →
“I am a repeat customer. The service is spectacular.”
Merced financing that fits the home and the borrower.
Near UC Merced and Lake Yosemite, FHA files are a Merced staple for us. For Merced we lean on FHA, first-time-buyer, down-payment-assistance — but whatever fits your Merced file, we shop it: an FHA loan, conventional, jumbo, VA, and non-QM. Jump in at any stage: buying, refinancing your mortgage, or just running numbers — begin online or call (949) 522-7310.
For Merced, that usually means FHA, first-time-buyer, down-payment-assistance, USDA.
Short on the down payment for a Merced home? Here’s what assistance is genuinely available — statewide CalHFA help covers Merced.
Not every Merced file fits a W-2 box — 1099 and business-owner borrowers can qualify on bank-statement income. Merced County’s 2026 conforming and FHA limits, by unit count are laid out in full if you’re comparing property types.
Close to Merced, we also help buyers in Turlock, Ceres, Modesto. See all California cities we serve →
Serving Merced as a licensed California mortgage broker — Choice Home Mortgage, NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Merced home-loan questions, straight answers.
Where does the Merced conforming loan limit sit for 2026?
The 2026 conforming loan limit for a one-unit home in Merced is $832,750, the figure FHFA set for Merced County. Merced County uses the $832,750 national baseline, so a larger loan is a jumbo loan, which each lender prices and underwrites under its own rules. For two units, the Merced County conforming limit is $1,066,250.
How do first-time buyers usually finance a Merced home?
First-time buyers in Merced usually finance with FHA, USDA and conventional loans. FHA loans allow 3.5% down with a credit score of 580 or higher, under HUD's rules. For FHA, the 2026 one-unit limit in Merced County is $541,287, per HUD. USDA loans need no down payment on homes in USDA-eligible areas, for buyers within USDA income limits.
Which Merced neighborhoods do you serve?
All of them, from North Merced to Downtown Merced; the rest of Merced is covered too. The neighborhood affects the appraisal, which compares recent nearby sales, but the loan terms come from your credit, income and down payment. Owner Esther Buede handles every file by phone and online, North Merced and Downtown Merced included.
Is Choice Home Mortgage local to Merced?
Our office is about 285 miles away in Fountain Valley, so we serve Merced remotely as a California broker. We are a family-owned California mortgage broker (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046), and we compare many lenders on every loan. Applications, documents and updates for North Merced or Downtown Merced homes all move by phone and online.
Do you cover the towns around Merced?
Yes, the towns around Merced are covered, including Turlock, Ceres and Modesto. Every address is checked against its own county's 2026 limit before we quote. Choice Home Mortgage arranges those loans as a licensed California broker, the same way as a Merced file. FHFA's 2026 one-unit limit for Merced County is $832,750.
Let's finance your Merced home.
Talk to the owner directly. We'll map the right loan for your Merced home and put lenders in competition for Merced business.