Silicon Valley Elites Get Home Loans With No Money Down
- Lenders are courting tech workers in the most expensive market
- Worries by some about fueling another bubble, and inequality
A breakfast nook with bench seating is at one end of the kitchen of a home listed for sale at $7,498,000 on Seale Ave. in Palo Alto, CA, U.S., on Wednesday, May 11, 2016. A custom-built home in the heart of California's Silicon Valley had its price cut by $500,000 last week after sitting on the market since the end of March -- a move that would've been almost unfathomable a year ago and a signal that frenzied demand has peaked.
Photographer: Michael Short/BloombergIt turns out that even the well-off need help in a housing market as crazy as the one in the San Francisco Bay area, and lenders are elbowing each other in a rush to provide it.
They’re courting Silicon Valley workers with tailored loans, guaranteed 24-hour approval and financial-planning services. Social Finance Inc. has deals with Google and other top technology companies that allow it to market to new hires. First Republic Bank -- which gave Facebook Inc. billionaire Mark Zuckerberg a 1.05 percent interest-rate mortgage -- has opened branches in Facebook and Twitter Inc. headquarters. San Francisco Federal Credit Union will finance 100 percent of houses costing up to $2 million.