Using Your RSUs to Buy a Home in Silicon Valley

Vested RSUs count as real income to a mortgage lender — but most Silicon Valley buyers assume their equity doesn't matter until it's cash in a brokerage account. That assumption can cost you tens of thousands of dollars in buying power, or worse, your rate lock, if nobody structures your pre-approval around it. Here's how lenders actually treat RSU income, and what you need to have ready before you shop for a home.

How Lenders Actually Treat RSU Income

Not all RSUs are created equal in a lender's eyes. Vested restricted stock units — the ones already reflected on your W-2 and pay stubs — count as qualifying income. Unvested RSUs generally don't, no matter how confident you are they'll convert on schedule.

For conventional loans backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, the stock also has to trade on the NYSE or NASDAQ; RSUs from a private company typically don't qualify until there's a public exit. Lenders want to see a vesting history too — usually 12 months of time-based vesting, or 24 months if your grants are performance-based — plus evidence that your employer intends to keep granting equity for at least three more years.

Income isn't calculated off today's stock price, either. Conventional lenders typically use the stock's 200-day moving average, which smooths out short-term volatility in either direction.

Conventional vs. Jumbo: What Changes at Silicon Valley Price Points

In 2026, the conforming loan limit for a single-family home in Santa Clara County and San Mateo County is $1,249,125. Anything above that requires jumbo financing — which, at Silicon Valley's price points, describes most of the homes the Property Nerds' buyers are actually competing for.

Jumbo guidelines vary more by lender than conventional ones do, but a common approach is to average two years of vested RSU income and apply a discount — often to 75% of the current stock price — to build in a cushion against volatility. FHA and VA loans don't permit RSU income as qualifying income at all, so if you're counting on equity to help you qualify, you're working within conventional or jumbo guidelines.

The difference shows up fast in your numbers. One lender's own example: 1,000 vested shares over 24 months at $150 a share, discounted to 75%, adds roughly $4,687 a month in qualifying income. Layer that onto a $16,666 monthly base salary, and buying power at a 43% debt-to-income ratio moves from roughly $1.0 million to roughly $1.6 million — a meaningful jump in a market where that's the difference between a starter condo and a home with room to grow.

What You'll Need to Document

Lenders who work with RSU income ask for more paperwork than a straightforward W-2 file, not less. Expect to provide your RSU award or grant agreement along with the full vesting schedule, your last two years of W-2s and tax returns, roughly 30 days of recent pay stubs showing year-to-date RSU income, and brokerage statements confirming your holdings.

You'll also need an employer verification letter — but it has to come from your stock plan administrator (E*TRADE, Fidelity, Carta, Schwab, or whoever manages your company's plan), not your general HR department. Lenders who haven't underwritten much RSU income sometimes ask for the wrong letter first; starting with the stock plan administrator saves a round trip.

Turning Vested Shares into a Down Payment

If you've already sold vested shares, those proceeds can count toward your down payment or reserve requirements — which matters in a market where a strong offer usually means 20% down or more. The same documentation trail applies: lenders will want to trace the sale back to your brokerage account and confirm the funds have been sitting there long enough to count as seasoned.

With mortgage rates still elevated — the 30-year fixed averaged 7.4% as of early October 2026, the highest in nearly three years — a larger RSU-funded down payment does more work than it used to. Every dollar you put down now is a dollar you're not financing at today's rate.

RSU income can meaningfully expand what you can buy in Silicon Valley, but only if your pre-approval is built around it correctly from the start. The Property Nerds walk buyers through Boyenga Team Connections every week to make sure equity compensation is documented the way underwriters actually want to see it — before you're competing for a home, not after. See the Property Nerds' buyer advantage for the full picture of how we support buyers start to finish, or follow our step-by-step buying guide to see exactly where RSU documentation fits into the process.