Blog Category: loan limits

March 23rd, 2021 loan limit
March 23rd, 2021

2021 Mortgage Loan Limits

Every year, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets a dollar cap on conventional mortgages that Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae are allowed, commonly referred to as a conforming loan limit. In 2020, the conforming loan limit for a single-family home was $510,400. This year, the conforming loan limit for a single-family home increased to $548,250, nearly 7.6% higher!

This means Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae can purchase conventional loans valued at or under the conforming loan limit from mortgage lenders. In most areas, the maximum conforming loan limits are as follows: Read More

Categories: Home Buying Process, Loan Types, mortgage, Refinance, Underwriting Rules , , , , ,

February 28th, 2017
February 28th, 2017

New Loan Limits For 2017

The mortgage loan limits have been changed for 2017. For Conventional loans the new limits are:

Conforming loans are:

Units
1 $424,100
2 $543,000
3 $656,350
4 $815,650

For Conforming “High Balance” loans in designated high cost areas the new limits are:

Units
1 $636,150
2 $814,500
3 $984,525
4 $1,223,475

Find more details on Conventional loan amounts click here.

Any Conventional loan amount which is higher than the above limits is considered a Jumbo loan (aka non-conforming) and is subject to different underwriting guidelines.

To look up FHA loan limits for your area click here.

To look up VA loan limits for your area click here.

Categories: Loan Types, mortgage, Underwriting Rules ,

October 22nd, 2012
October 22nd, 2012

Size Does Matter: Some Loan Amounts Are Bigger Than Others

The maximum loan size on mortgages varies from area to area. Most people are aware that the Conforming loan limit can be extended in high cost areas, which are typically the more urban, high cost markets. But many people are not aware that the Conforming loan amounts as well as the Conforming High Balance loan limits vary from area to area, based on a formula using median sales price information for the area. So a Conforming loan can be raised to a higher Read More

Categories: Loan Types, Underwriting Rules , , , ,

May 17th, 2012
May 17th, 2012

How Much Can I Really Get?

brian-martucci-how-much-house-can-i-afford

People seem to get confused by maximum loan amount allowances, down payment requirements, and the interest rates surrounding them. I thought it would be helpful to have a breakdown. I am going to show loan limits for owner occupied loans, for Conventional, FHA and VA loans: Read More

Categories: Underwriting Rules , , , , , , , , 1 Comment »

December 13th, 2011
December 13th, 2011

FHA Loans Limits Increased, But Only Thru 2012.

There was some confusion as to how long the latest FHA loan limit increase is going to last, which I blogged about here. Was it through the end of 2011, or 2 full years through 2013, or just through next year and it ends 2012? So the verdict is in, and the latest FHA loan limit increase expires at the end of 2012. So come December 2012, there will be another political fight, Read More

Categories: FHA, Underwriting Rules , ,

December 5th, 2011
December 5th, 2011

FHA Loan Limit Increase Is Temporary?

Some things are permanent, and some are temporary. The cardboard house in this picture, I’d speculate that it is temporary, very temporary. The recent FHA loan limit increase, the one that the NAR (National Association of Realtors) was busy patting itself on the back for having lobbied for it, and helping to get it passed; it seems to be temporary. So what is all of the fuss over. For now, we have one extra month of getting loans done at the higher loan limit, that is a big deal? The NAR, however, said the loan limit increase is good for two years. Here is their announcement: Read More

Categories: FHA, Loan Types , ,

October 25th, 2011
October 25th, 2011

Latest Rate News. And Are Loan Limits Changing?

TRANSCRIPT:

Justin: We are on. Hey, Brian. This is Justin and we’re here with the Mortgage Market Minute. What do you have for me today?

Brian Martucci: Well, I think the topic of the day is probably going to be interest rates and the odd thing to me is that a lot of people do not realize that interest rates are up a little bit, not a lot, but people, when the media starts to hammer the public with the fact that rates are down, rates are down and they repeat it all the time. Read More

Categories: interest rates, mortgage , ,

June 10th, 2011
June 10th, 2011

Government Says Your House Needs A Band-Aid.

In 2008 Congress decided the mortgage world and the economy in general were imploding, and one of the hundreds of ways they decided that they knew better than anyone else and that they would help (i.e. interfere), was to raise the maximum conforming loan limit that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac offered for loans. They created a class of loan called “conforming-jumbo”, also known as “conforming high balance.” It used to be Read More

Categories: Loan Types, Underwriting Rules