Conforming Loan Limits To Jump $26,250

All of those companies that jumped the gun on the conforming loan limit for 2026 missed the mark by more than $22,000.

United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), Rate, Cross Country Mortgage, and several others raised their ceilings to $819,000 in anticipation of an increase in the limit on the loans that can be purchased by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

As it turns out, they were a tad short.

As of January 1, the limit for one-unit properties will be $832,750, an increase of $26,250 from this year’s ceiling, $806,500, the Federal Housing Finance Agency announced. That’s a 3.26% increase.

By law, the official ceiling is based on the average price of a house nationally, from one October to the next. To adjust the limit, the FHFA uses the October-to-October percentage increase or decrease in the average house price, as indicated in the House Price Index report, issued by the Federal Housing Finance Board. The formula is designed to reflect changes in the average price of a home, which is almost always in flux.

Between this year’s third quarter and last year's, prices moved up 3.26%, on average. So the baseline, and all other ceilings, will rise, accordingly.

The new ceiling will be higher in all but 32 U.S. counties or their equivalents.

For properties in high cost areas, the new ceiling for one-family properties will be $1,249,125, which is 150% of $832,750. And for properties in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the baseline loan limit and the ceiling loan limit will be $1,249,125 and $1,873,675, respectively.

The FHFA did not say what the limits will be for two-, three-, and four-family properties.