Salinas, CA
Salinas home loans, built for Salinas's market.
High-balance, jumbo, move-up, refinance: whatever a Salinas purchase needs — near Alisal/East Salinas or anywhere Salinas — the loan fits the market.
Is there a mortgage broker serving Salinas, CA?
Yes. Choice Home Mortgage is a family-owned California mortgage broker (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046), and Salinas is in our service area. Owner Esther Buede handles each Salinas loan herself and compares many lenders for it, so a Salinas buyer is not limited to one bank's programs.
For 2026, a one-unit Salinas home can carry a conforming loan of up to $994,750, the Monterey County limit FHFA sets, and we check where your Salinas price falls before you write an offer. The whole process runs by phone and online.
Inside the Salinas mortgage market.
Salinas is the seat and largest city of Monterey County, whose agricultural economy generates a broad labor market; buyers drawn by proximity to the Monterey Peninsula pay a premium over comparable Central Valley markets.
The loan has to fit the Salinas picture. Monterey County counts as high-cost, so Salinas buyers get a $994,750 one-unit ceiling on 2026 Salinas purchases. That means high-balance and jumbo tools come up constantly in Salinas — the first job on any Salinas file is placing it against $994,750. Salinas’s price tier is above the national norm, the same reality behind Monterey County’s high-cost limit. FHFA 2026 figures; your scenario gets verified before anything else.
2026 loan limits checked against FHFA’s county file; this page was last updated October 26, 2026.
Roughly 155,000-plus people call Salinas home, spread from Alisal/East Salinas to North Salinas, with Watsonville and Gilroy minutes away. From the National Steinbeck Center outward, we treat Salinas as home turf. Alisal/East Salinas, Sherwood Gardens, Oldtown Salinas, and North Salinas — we finance homes in each of them, and everywhere else Salinas reaches. Looking for a mortgage broker near you in Salinas? We serve Salinas by phone and online, so Salinas buyers get local-market help without driving anywhere.
How we work Salinas loans.
Salinas market knowledge
Alisal/East Salinas, Sherwood Gardens, Oldtown Salinas, the streets around the National Steinbeck Center — we read Salinas's price points like locals, because that's how we work it.
High-balance & jumbo ready
Price tags in Salinas sit above the national norm, so we build FHA, first-time-buyer, high-balance strategies sized to Salinas.
Lenders shopped for you
Salinas loans here go to whichever lender earns them — we shop the Salinas file wide.
Owner-handled
Esther Buede — the owner — works your Salinas loan start to finish; our Google reviews show Salinas buyers why that matters.
The owner works your file. Personally.
Every Salinas file lands on one desk: owner Esther Buede’s (individual NMLS #2003644). She’ll know your Salinas plans — Sherwood Gardens or anywhere Salinas — and your name from the first call. Choice Home Mortgage has closed loans since 2005. Meet the family behind CHM →
“One of the best business interactions that I've ever had. Esther Buede made my loan application possible.”
The right Salinas loan for your situation.
Around the National Steinbeck Center, FHA remains the workhorse of Salinas lending. Salinas files most often land on FHA, first-time-buyer, high-balance — and past those, every Salinas option gets shopped: FHA loans, conventional, jumbo, VA, and non-QM. Any starting point works: buying, refinancing your mortgage, or simply exploring — apply online or call (949) 522-7310.
For Salinas, that usually means high-balance, FHA, first-time-buyer.
Buying your first Salinas place? We wrote up the down-payment assistance programs that are really open, CalHFA included — it applies in Salinas.
Self-employed in Salinas? We also work with self-employed borrowers — bank-statement income included, plus asset-based qualifying for Salinas investors. The full Monterey County 2026 loan-limit breakdown covers every unit count, not just the single-family line above.
And around Salinas: Watsonville, Gilroy, Santa Cruz are all in reach. Browse our California service areas →
A licensed California mortgage broker for Salinas: Choice Home Mortgage, NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046. Equal Housing Opportunity.
Salinas mortgage questions, answered.
Where does the Salinas conforming loan limit sit for 2026?
$994,750 is the 2026 conforming limit for a single-family home in Salinas, based on FHFA's figure for Monterey County. Loans from $832,750 up to $994,750 count as high-balance conforming in high-cost Monterey County; above $994,750, the loan is jumbo. Two-unit homes in Monterey County have a $1,273,450 conforming limit for 2026.
How do Salinas buyers finance above the conforming limit?
Above $994,750, Salinas buyers either take a jumbo loan or raise the down payment until the loan fits under the Monterey County limit. A loan between the $832,750 national baseline and $994,750 is high-balance conforming in Monterey County. Your file goes to many lenders, and you see their offers side by side.
Which Salinas neighborhoods do you serve?
We finance homes in every Salinas neighborhood, including Alisal/East Salinas, Sherwood Gardens, Oldtown Salinas and North Salinas. The neighborhood affects the appraisal, which compares recent nearby sales, but the loan terms come from your credit, income and down payment. An Alisal/East Salinas address and a North Salinas address get the same lender shopping from us.
Can you handle my Salinas purchase remotely?
Yes. A Salinas purchase runs by phone and online, and owner Esther Buede handles the file from application to closing. We are a family-owned California mortgage broker (NMLS #2629064, CA DRE #01822046), and we compare many lenders on every loan. The Monterey County conforming limit for one unit is $994,750 in 2026.
What if I'm buying just outside Salinas?
Buying just outside Salinas changes nothing on our side; we also arrange loans in Watsonville, Gilroy and Santa Cruz. 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 Salinas file.
Let's get you home in Salinas.
Talk to the owner directly. We'll map the right loan for your Salinas home and put lenders in competition for Salinas business.