2017 Levels Announced on GSE Loan Limits, Multifamily Caps

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released the 2017 levels for the government-sponsored enterprises’ (GSEs) maximum conforming loan limits on mortgages and multifamily lending caps.

Regarding the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, there will be an increase next year for one-unit properties from the current $417,000 to a new level of $424,100. This will be the first increase in the baseline loan limit since 2006. In areas where 115 percent of the local median home value exceeds the baseline loan limit, the maximum area loan limit will be higher.

“Today’s conforming loan limit increase is a much-needed recognition of rising home prices in high-cost markets, and a help to first-time and lower-income borrowers looking to utilize an FHA mortgage," said William E. Brown, president of the National Association of Realtors (NAR). "Credit remains tight, but this decision will help more qualified buyers address the hurdles and high costs standing between them and the dream of homeownership.”

On the multifamily front, the FHFA announced that the 2017 lending caps for the GSEs will remain unchanged, with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac being subject to a cap of $36.5 billion of multifamily purchase volume next year. The FHFA added it was releasing this decision now in order to “provide all stakeholders adequate time to plan their 2017 pipelines.”