Stocks Are At Record Highs: Leverage Your Portfolio to Buy a House

Stocks have created an enormous amount of new wealth over the last several years, and it is not limited to the Magnificent 7 anymore. Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Alphabet, Meta, Tesla, and Nvidia remain major wealth creators, but the AI boom has also pushed semiconductor and infrastructure companies such as Broadcom, AMD, TSMC, and Micron into the conversation.

Then there are private-company employees and early shareholders at companies like SpaceX, where a significant portion of someone’s net worth may be tied to equity rather than traditional salary.

For these borrowers, the problem is rarely a lack of wealth. The problem is that traditional mortgage underwriting does not always recognize that wealth in the most useful way.

Someone can have several million dollars invested and still be told their income does not support the home they want to buy.

That is where an asset depletion mortgage can become extremely useful. Instead of relying solely on W-2 income or tax returns, lenders can evaluate eligible stocks, ETFs, retirement accounts, cash, and other financial assets, convert those assets into qualifying income, and use that figure to help approve the mortgage.

For buyers pursuing larger homes and multimillion-dollar financing, the same strategy can extend into jumbo asset depletion loans. These programs can be especially valuable for borrowers whose net worth has grown far faster than their taxable or salaried income.

The goal is not to sell everything you own so you can qualify for a mortgage. The goal is to structure the loan so the wealth you have already built helps you qualify for the home you want.

How AI, Semiconductor and Tech Wealth Can Help You Buy a Home

The rise of AI has created a new group of borrowers whose balance sheets look very different from their paychecks.

An Nvidia engineer may have accumulated millions in company stock. A long-term Broadcom shareholder may be sitting on a portfolio that has grown dramatically over the last decade. Someone at SpaceX may have substantial vested equity but a salary that represents only a portion of their overall financial strength.

The same applies to executives, founders, early employees, investors, and ordinary homeowners who happened to own semiconductor or technology stocks during a period of extraordinary growth.

Traditional mortgage underwriting tends to start with income. Asset depletion starts with a broader question: what financial resources does this borrower have available to support the mortgage?

Depending on the program, eligible brokerage accounts, marketable securities, retirement funds, and cash can be converted into qualifying monthly income. That income may be used by itself or combined with salary, bonuses, commissions, RSUs, pension income, or other documented income sources.

That can dramatically change the qualification picture.

A borrower earning $250,000 per year may appear stretched when applying for a large jumbo mortgage using salary alone. If that same borrower also has $4 million or $5 million in eligible investments, the financial profile looks very different once those assets are properly incorporated into underwriting.

This can be particularly valuable for borrowers whose wealth is concentrated in AI stocks, semiconductor stocks, technology-company equity, or diversified investment portfolios. You may not need to liquidate a substantial portion of your holdings just to make your mortgage application work.

What Is an Asset Depletion Mortgage?

Think of it this way: instead of asking, “How much do you earn each year from work?” lenders ask, “How much qualifying income can your assets support?”

Here’s how it works:

• Lenders identify eligible assets such as brokerage accounts, retirement accounts, mutual funds, ETFs, and cash.
• They apply an asset depletion formula that converts those assets into monthly qualifying income.
• The exact calculation depends on the lender, the type of assets being used, and the loan program.
• That asset-based income can often be used by itself or combined with salary, bonuses, pensions, Social Security, or other eligible income.

For a borrower with a multimillion-dollar portfolio, that calculation can create a substantial amount of qualifying income. Someone whose salary alone does not support the jumbo mortgage they want may look very different once brokerage accounts, retirement funds, and other eligible assets are incorporated into underwriting.

Unlike traditional income-based underwriting, an asset depletion loan does not rely solely on tax returns or adjusted gross income. That can make it particularly useful for investors, retirees, entrepreneurs, executives, and other high-net-worth borrowers whose balance sheets are far stronger than their reported income suggests.

Real-World Asset Depletion Mortgage Scenarios

The Tech Executive in California

A technology executive in the Bay Area earns $325,000 in W-2 income but has accumulated more than $5 million in Nvidia, Broadcom, and other semiconductor stocks. They want to purchase a $4 million home, but salary alone does not support the jumbo loan amount they need.

Rather than selling a large portion of the portfolio and creating a potentially significant capital gains event, the lender uses eligible investment assets to generate additional qualifying income. Combined with the executive’s salary, asset depletion gives them the borrowing power needed for the jumbo mortgage while allowing most of the portfolio to remain invested.

The Retiree Moving to Colorado

A recently retired couple wants to purchase a $2.2 million home outside Denver. They have $3.5 million spread across brokerage accounts, ETFs, and retirement assets, but their recurring income consists primarily of Social Security and a relatively modest pension.

A conventional income calculation makes the mortgage difficult to qualify for despite the couple’s substantial net worth. An asset depletion mortgage allows the lender to recognize eligible investments as a source of qualifying income, giving the couple another way to finance the home without liquidating millions of dollars simply because they no longer collect traditional paychecks.

The Business Owner in Illinois

A business owner in the Chicago suburbs earns substantial cash flow from a successful company but reports relatively little taxable income after legitimate business deductions and reinvestment. They also have $1.8 million in a brokerage account and another $1.2 million in retirement assets.

Tax returns alone make the borrower appear less qualified than their balance sheet suggests. By combining available income with eligible assets, the lender can build a more complete picture of the borrower’s financial strength. Instead of being penalized for running a tax-efficient business, the borrower may be able to qualify for the home they want based on the wealth they have already accumulated.

The SpaceX Employee in Texas

A SpaceX employee in Austin earns a strong salary but has built much of their net worth through company equity and investments accumulated over several years. They are looking at a $3 million home and have roughly $4 million across eligible brokerage accounts, retirement funds, and other investments.

A traditional jumbo lender may focus primarily on recurring salary and conclude that the requested loan is too large. A jumbo asset depletion loan creates another path by incorporating eligible assets into the qualification calculation. Rather than making an unnecessarily large down payment or liquidating investments just to satisfy the lender’s income requirements, the borrower can use their balance sheet to help support the mortgage.

The Benefits of Using Stocks and Retirement Accounts to Buy a House

No Capital Gains Hit
Selling shares to buy a house often triggers a tax bill, especially for long-term holders of Magnificent 7 stocks or ETFs. Asset depletion avoids that by keeping your investments intact.

Stay Invested
Your portfolio keeps compounding. Instead of cashing out and missing the next rally in Tesla or Nvidia—or the steady rise of the S&P 500—your money remains in the market.

Bigger Approvals by Combining Income
Asset depletion isn’t an either/or. It works alongside W‑2 income, bonuses, commissions, and RSUs. The more income streams you can document, the stronger your approval.

Flexibility Across Property Types
These mortgages aren’t just for primary residences. You can use them to buy a vacation home in Port Aransas, a second home in the Hill Country, or an investment property in Dallas.

Who Asset Depletion Mortgages Help Most

• Tech Professionals: Austin and Dallas are filled with employees who’ve been granted RSUs from Apple, Meta, Tesla, or other Magnificent 7 companies. Asset depletion turns those holdings into income without waiting to sell.

• Retirees: Texans who’ve built strong 401(k) or IRA balances can buy retirement homes without relying solely on Social Security or pensions. We also offer specialized retirement mortgage programs that help retirees use their assets efficiently to qualify without draining their nest egg.

• Entrepreneurs: Self-employed borrowers often show low taxable income, but asset depletion gives them credit for the wealth they’ve built in accounts. We also help entrepreneurs through bank statement mortgage programs, which use deposits rather than tax returns to qualify—making it easier to buy even when traditional underwriting says no.

• High-Net-Worth Families: Even if you’re still working, a $2–5 million portfolio can help you stretch into higher-value homes while keeping investments intact.

Why This Matters in Texas and Other High-Cost Markets

Texas remains a strong example of where asset depletion can give buyers more flexibility. In Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio, borrowers are often balancing high home prices with compensation structures that include stock, bonuses, business income, or large investment portfolios. A buyer may have millions of dollars in assets but still find that a traditional income calculation does not reflect their full financial strength.

The same issue shows up well beyond Texas. In California, buyers in Los Angeles, San Diego, Silicon Valley, and Orange County routinely face jumbo loan amounts where salary alone may not tell the whole story. In Colorado, high-income borrowers purchasing in Denver, Boulder, or mountain communities may have substantial brokerage and retirement assets that can strengthen the mortgage application. Around Chicago and its higher-priced suburbs, business owners, executives, and retirees may also have significant wealth that does not translate neatly into taxable income.

Asset depletion gives those borrowers another way to qualify. Instead of forcing someone to sell investments, increase taxable income, or make an unnecessarily large down payment, the lender can evaluate eligible assets as part of the qualification strategy.

That can be especially useful in competitive or expensive housing markets. A stronger approval may allow the borrower to pursue the property they actually want, preserve more liquidity after closing, and avoid restructuring an investment portfolio simply to fit a traditional mortgage formula.

Whether the home is in Austin, Los Angeles, Denver, Chicago, Miami, New York, or another high-cost market, the underlying problem is often the same: the borrower has the wealth to support the purchase, but their paycheck does not tell the entire financial story. Asset depletion helps bridge that gap.

Why Mortgage Brokers Like LendFriend Are Key

Not all lenders handle asset depletion the same way. Some use more conservative formulas, exclude certain retirement assets, or apply larger discounts to stocks and other investments. That can create dramatically different outcomes for the exact same borrower.

As a mortgage broker, LendFriend can compare multiple asset depletion programs and structure the loan around the borrower’s full financial picture rather than forcing every file into one set of bank guidelines.

That means we can:

• Pair W-2 income with asset depletion when combining the two creates more qualifying power.
• Help document RSUs, bonuses, retirement accounts, brokerage assets, and other eligible funds correctly.
• Compare programs that treat stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, and retirement assets differently.
• Structure jumbo asset depletion loans for borrowers who need several million dollars of financing.
• Help retirees, business owners, executives, investors, and tech employees whose wealth is much stronger than their traditional income suggests.

The lender itself also makes a major difference. Our guide to the best mortgage lenders for asset depletion loans explains how different programs approach qualifying assets, loan sizes, income calculations, and borrower profiles. The goal is not simply to find a lender that offers asset depletion. It is to find the program that gives your particular balance sheet the strongest treatment.

You can also use our asset depletion mortgage calculator to get an initial sense of how your assets, income, debts, and proposed down payment could translate into buying power. It is a useful starting point before deciding how much to put down or whether selling investments is even necessary.

We’ve built deep expertise in asset depletion mortgage programs, including jumbo loans and complex high-net-worth borrower scenarios. When your financial picture does not fit neatly into a W-2 box, the right structure can be just as important as the amount of wealth you have.

Final Thoughts: Let Your Stocks Work Twice as Hard

Buying a home does not have to mean abandoning the investment strategy that helped build your wealth. With an asset depletion mortgage, eligible stocks, ETFs, retirement accounts, and other financial assets can help support mortgage qualification while allowing more of your portfolio to remain invested.

Whether you are holding Nvidia, Broadcom, Amazon, or other technology and semiconductor stocks, sitting on years of SpaceX equity, approaching retirement with a large 401(k), or running a business that produces far more wealth than taxable income suggests, you may have more mortgage options than a traditional income calculation shows.

That becomes even more important with larger purchases. A jumbo asset depletion loan can give high-net-worth borrowers another way to finance multimillion-dollar homes without assuming that selling investments or making an enormous down payment is the only path forward.

At LendFriend, we help borrowers across Texas, California, Colorado, Illinois, and other markets structure asset depletion mortgages around the wealth they have already built. We compare programs, determine which assets can be used most effectively, and look for ways to maximize qualifying power without unnecessarily disrupting the borrower’s broader financial strategy.

If you want to see what your portfolio may support, start with our asset depletion mortgage calculator. Then schedule a call or request a personalized rate quote, and we can walk through the numbers and determine which asset depletion structure makes the most sense for your purchase.