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By G. Steven Bray
Rising home prices have prompted federal regulators to raise the loan limits for conventional loans starting in Jan. The maximum loan amount for a conforming loan on a single-family home, one eligible for acquisition by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, will rise to $484,350.
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) reviews the loan limits each year as established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) and adjusts them as necessary to reflect changes in home prices. FHFA reported its housing price index rose 6.9% since the third quarter of last year, so it adjusted the loan limit higher by the same amount.
Higher limits apply in certain “high cost” areas where 115% of the local median home price exceeds the new limit; however, FHFA hasn’t indentified any of those “high cost” areas in TX. Higher limits also apply to two, three, and four unit properties.
For some historical perspective, conforming loan limits go back to the early 1970’s, when the single-family loan limit was $33,000. Congress set the limit to $417,000 in 2008, where it remained for several years until average home prices rebounded from the great recession.
FHA and VA set their loan limits independently of the conforming loan limit, and I’ll report those as soon as they’re available.