Conforming Loan Limits: Baseline, High-Cost Areas, and Overages

The 2026 conforming loan limit is $832,750 for a one-unit property in most of the United States, a 3.26 percent increase over 2025. The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced the new figures on November 25, 2025, and they apply to loans acquired by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac on or after January 1, 2026.¹ Higher limits apply in expensive counties and in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. A mortgage that stays within the applicable limit qualifies for standardized conventional pricing; anything above it becomes a jumbo loan with tighter requirements.

2026 Baseline Limits by Property Size

The baseline applies across the contiguous United States, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. Limits rise with the number of units in the property:¹

One unit: $832,750
Two units: $1,066,250
Three units: $1,288,800
Four units: $1,601,750

Lenders use these thresholds to decide whether they can sell the loan to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. A buyer purchasing a duplex for $1.1 million would exceed the two-unit baseline and need either jumbo financing or a larger down payment to bring the loan under $1,066,250.²

High-Cost Area Limits

Counties where housing runs well above the national average get elevated conforming limits. A county qualifies when 115 percent of its local median home value for a one-unit property exceeds the baseline. Federal law caps the adjustment at 150 percent of the national baseline, which produces these 2026 ceilings for the most expensive mainland counties:³

One unit: $1,249,125
Two units: $1,599,375
Three units: $1,933,200
Four units: $2,402,625

Not every high-cost county hits the ceiling. Where 115 percent of the median value works out to $950,000, the county limit lands near that number rather than the full $1,249,125. The statutory ceiling matters most in parts of California, the New York metro area, and the D.C. suburbs, where median prices push the formula to its cap.⁴ To find the limit for a specific county, check the FHFA’s published list.

Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Federal law treats these four areas separately. Their baseline starts at 150 percent of the national baseline rather than the national baseline itself, reflecting higher construction and shipping costs. The one-unit baseline in these areas is $1,249,125 for 2026, the same figure as the high-cost ceiling in the mainland.¹ Parts of Hawaii that qualify as high-cost can reach $1,873,675 for a one-unit property. Multi-unit baselines in the special statutory areas are:⁴

Two units: $1,599,375
Three units: $1,933,200
Four units: $2,402,625

What Happens If Your Loan Exceeds the Limit

A mortgage above the applicable conforming threshold becomes a jumbo loan. The lender can’t sell it to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so it either keeps the loan on its books or sells it to private investors, and prices the loan accordingly. Expect stricter qualification on several fronts:

Down payment: most jumbo lenders want 20 to 25 percent down, compared to as little as 3 to 5 percent on a conforming loan.
Debt-to-income ratio: jumbo lenders typically cap total monthly debt at 36 to 43 percent of gross income, tighter than the 43 to 50 percent range common for conforming loans.
Credit score: borrowers generally need a score above 700 for a jumbo mortgage, while conforming loans are available with scores in the low-to-mid 600s.

Interest rates on jumbo loans don’t always run higher. In competitive markets, some jumbo rates have come in below conforming rates because lenders want to attract high-balance borrowers with strong credit. If you’re close to the applicable limit, increasing your down payment enough to bring the loan under the cap can spare you the stricter jumbo requirements entirely.

How the 2026 Baseline Was Set

The FHFA adjusts the baseline once a year using its expanded-data House Price Index.⁵ If average U.S. home prices rise between the third quarter of the current year and the third quarter of the prior year, the baseline goes up by the same percentage. The index showed a 3.26 percent gain from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025, which lifted the one-unit baseline by $26,250 to $832,750.¹

The formula has a one-way ratchet. If national prices fall, the baseline holds at its previous level rather than dropping, so borrowers don’t get pushed into jumbo territory during a downturn.³ Congress built this structure into the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008.

Conforming vs. FHA Loan Limits

FHA loans use a different formula that starts from the conforming figure but produces its own floor and ceiling. For 2026, the FHA floor for a one-unit property in a low-cost area is $541,287, and the FHA ceiling in the most expensive areas is $1,249,125, matching the conforming high-cost ceiling.⁶

The gap shows on the low end. In an affordable county, an FHA borrower is capped at $541,287 for a one-unit home, while a conforming conventional loan in the same county can go up to $832,750. FHA loans also carry mandatory mortgage insurance premiums regardless of down payment size; conforming loans let borrowers drop private mortgage insurance once they reach 20 percent equity. Conforming loans allow a larger balance in affordable areas, but qualification standards are stricter.⁷

1
Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA Announces Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026
2
Freddie Mac. 2026 Loan Limits Increase by 3.26%
3
Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA Conforming Loan Limits FAQs
4
Fannie Mae. Loan Limits
5
Federal Housing Finance Agency. FHFA House Price Index Datasets
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD Announces 2026 FHA Loan Limits
7
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Mortgagee Letter 2025-23 – 2026 Nationwide Forward Mortgage Loan Limits