The ad targeting might be locale-specific, but the companies advertising aren't.
In the NY area, I also get 4 ads as the first results for "mortgage", from lendingtree, consumeradvocate.org, mortgage-loans.thetoptensites.com, and bankrate.com.
They may do geo-restriction just to reach the largest number of people with the smallest spend, or something like that.
The other person's point stands though, for many searches you don't get many non-ad results on the first page.
In the NY area, I also get 4 ads as the first results for "mortgage", from lendingtree, consumeradvocate.org, mortgage-loans.thetoptensites.com, and bankrate.com.
They may do geo-restriction just to reach the largest number of people with the smallest spend, or something like that.
The other person's point stands though, for many searches you don't get many non-ad results on the first page.