Mortgage brokers get the blues as fewer buyers have the green
Loans to buy a home dropped to the lowest level in more than a decade, as higher mortgage rates and near-record prices are slamming the door on the American – and California – dream for many wanna-be homeowners.
The Central Valley and Sacramento – among the most affordable housing markets in the state – endured double-digit loan activity during the first quarter, including a state-worst 20% freefall in Fresno County, according to ATTOM Data.
But even Riverside County, also a so-called affordable market especially compared to the rest of Southern California, had an 8% drop in loan activity from a year ago.
Los Angeles was the odd-city out of the slide – other than the Bay Area, which has enjoyed a huge boost in home sales and price increases thanks to AI-related wealth from Anthropic, OpenAI and other firms.
Fewer buyers but they are paying more for homes
Nationwide, about 1.57 million loans – purchases, refis and home-equity lines of credit – were funded in the first quarter, a 13% decline from the first quarter but up 5% from a year ago, according to ATTOM Data.
Home loans were even better in California, including a 39% increase in San Jose and 25%-plus gains in Los Angeles, San Diego and San Francisco. But many of the loans were refis, as more homeowners pass on selling and instead tap home equity for home-improvement projects, pay off high-interest credit-card bills or other pricey expenses.
Total loan volume was $578 billion nationwide, down 12% from the first quarter and up 15% from a year ago. The boost in dollars is evidence of still-rising home prices and the increase in higher-priced homes selling.
“Purchase, refinancing and home-equity lending all posted declines from the previous quarter, continuing a seasonal trend we’ve seen during the start of the year over the past four years,” said ATTOM CEO Rob Barber. “However, purchase activity stood out with home-buying loans falling to a 12-year low, as elevated home prices and higher mortgage rates continued to strain affordability for many buyers.”
| City | All home loans | % change from a year ago |
|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | 3,507 | -3.9% |
| Fresno | 3,392 | -4.8% |
| Los Angeles | 48,172 | +28.1% |
| Riverside | 23,080 | +7.5% |
| Sacramento | 12,370 | +11.6% |
| San Diego | 15,289 | +26.4% |
| San Francisco | 17,428 | +28.6% |
| San Jose | 7,364 | +39.2% |
ATTOM Data
More homes are being taken off the market
Buyers are getting cold feet – and many sellers are frustrated with a lack of offers.
A near-record percentage of owners have pulled their homes off the market amid high prices but much slower sales in April, according to a Redfin report.
Nationwide, 5.8% of homes listed were removed, matching the record reached in December 2025 – and the most since March 2020.
In California, the on-and-off dance – and the reason behind the move – depends on the market. Now, all eight regions had a larger percentage of delistings than the national average, including a state-high 9.3% in San Jose (see table, below).
But the are different reasons for the moves.
A dance between buyers and sellers
In the Bay Area, homeowners are simply playing the market, trying to get the largest payday. The three cities – Oakland, San Francisco and San Jose – had 7.4%-plus delistings in April.
But the Bay Area is also the hottest housing market, especially for higher-priced homes, in the nation, thanks largely to the huge paychecks and soon-to-be massive paydays for Anthropic and OpenAI employees. The three cities had a decline in delistings in April, as sellers enjoy bidding wars and multiple offers for their properties.
In other regions of the state, delistings have increased with fewer buyers and more frustrated sellers with a sputtering market.
Los Angeles and Riverside, where 7% of homes on the market were delisted in April, had the largest increase in removals in the state. Orange County had the second-largest increase.
Anaheim, the Sacramento region – one of the most affordable housing markets in the state – and San Diego had the lowest percentage of delisted homes.
Bottom line: A buyer’s market is worrying many sellers in most of the state.
| City | % of homes delisted in April .26 | Percentage point change from a year ago |
|---|---|---|
| Anaheim | 6.6% | +1.5 |
| Los Angeles | 7.8% | +1.7 |
| Oakland | 7.4% | -2.1 |
| Riverside | 7.3% | +1.7 |
| Sacramento | 6.6% | +0.2 |
| San Diego | 6.5% | +0.4 |
| San Francisco | 7.5% | -3.2 |
| San Jose | 9.3% | -5.1 |
Source: Redfin
Start saving if you want to buy a home in San Jose by 2040
Buying a house is a challenge in California, where fewer than one of every four households can purchase.
The biggest hurdle – and it’s a huge one – is saving enough money for the down payment. Four of five renters say the down payment and closing costs are a “significant obstacle” to purchasing a home, according to a Bankrate survey.
In California, saving dollars and pinching pennies for the down payment can take several years – and often much longer, according to the National Association of Realtors.
For the average first-time buyer in San Jose, the effort takes 15 years – the longest in the U.S., followed by 14 years in Los Angeles (see table below).
The national average is six years – the same as money-saving efforts in Bakersfield to buy a house, the shortest time in California.
Aggressive saving needed to buy in California — sometimes $2,000 per month
NAR crunched data with the assumption that the average Californian looking to buy will be able to save 15% of their income – about $10,700 per year in Bakersfield to more than $24,700 in San Jose (see chart).
Think about those figures – that would mean saving about $900 per month in Bakersfield to more than $2,000 in San Jose.
A buyer would need to save that amount for 180 months or so to save the $382,000 needed to buy in San Jose, where the median home price is $1.57 million.
Start saving now for a home a decade or more down the road, uncles prices plummet and mortgage rates slide.
| City | Years to save for downpayment | How much needed to save per year | Median home price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bakersfield | 6 | $10,740 | $414,310 |
| Fresno | 7 | $11,250 | $460,640 |
| Los Angeles | 14 | $14,460 | $986,000 |
| Riverside | 8 | $13,650 | $622,210 |
| Sacramento | 8 | $14,820 | $632,710 |
| San Diego | 12 | $16,370 | $193,690 |
| San Francisco | 12 | $20,340 | $1.19 million |
| San Jose | 15 | $24,720 | $1.57 million |
Source: National Association of Realtors
