According to this well-written short piece on the state of the jumbo home loan market in the United States;

To qualify for a jumbo mortgage today, you should expect:

  • To make a down payment of at least 20 percent for a purchase (or have at least 20 percent equity in a refinance).
  • To document your income.
  • To get an adjustable-rate loan, because fixed-rate jumbos are relatively rare.
  • For your monthly mortgage payment to be no more than 38 percent of your income before taxes.