Our analysis of 2025 HMDA data. Rates are medians on loans actually opened.
Why HELOCs were denied in San Jose, CA
First reason lenders gave, share of denials with a reason reported.
Denial rate by debt-to-income
San Jose, CA HELOC applications, 2025.
| Debt-to-income | Decisions | Denied |
|---|---|---|
| Under 20% | 354 | 35% |
| 20% to 29% | 745 | 18% |
| 30% to 35% | 716 | 17% |
| 36% to 42% | 1,268 | 15% |
| 43% to 49% | 1,771 | 17% |
| 50% to 60% | 711 | 47% |
| Over 60% | 921 | 98% |
If you were denied a HELOC in San Jose, CA
6 of the six major home equity investment providers list California as a service area: CHEIFS, Hometap, Point, Splitero, Unison, Unlock. See which could fit you.
Compare a HELOC, home equity loan, cash-out refinance, and home equity investment side by side, with your own approval odds, in the home equity options tool. A HELOC like the typical 2025 loan here would start around 7.13% at today’s prime rate.
State rules: California.
Other metro areas in California
Oakland, CA (33%) · Los Angeles, CA (36%) · Modesto, CA (40%) · Anaheim, CA (29%) · San Francisco, CA (33%) · Sacramento, CA (32%) · All 358 metro areas
Questions
What is the HELOC denial rate in San Jose, CA?
Lenders denied 33.0% of the 6,596 HELOC applications they decided in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA metro area in 2025, above the national rate of 32.9%, according to federal HMDA data.
Why do HELOCs get denied in San Jose, CA?
The most common first reason lenders gave was debt-to-income ratio (54% of denials with a reason reported).
What is a typical HELOC rate in San Jose, CA?
The median starting rate on HELOCs opened in the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, CA area in 2025 was 7.50%. HELOC rates move with the prime rate, which has changed by -0.37 points since, so a similar loan today would start around 7.13%. Your rate depends on your credit, equity, and lender.
Source: FFIEC / CFPB HMDA data, 2025, second-lien HELOCs and home equity loans with a credit decision, by the metro area HMDA assigns. Metro names: U.S. Census Bureau. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0). Methodology: HELOC denial data.
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