Rising home prices have driven loan limits up in all but a handful of counties
The maximum conforming loan limit for mortgages being acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be going up in most parts of the country in 2019, the Federal Housing Finance Agency has announced.
As a result of rising home prices, the maximum conforming loan limit will be higher in 2019 in all but 47 counties in the US, according to the FHFA. In most of the US, the maximum conforming loan limit for one-unit properties will be hiked to $484,350 in 2019, up from 2018’s $453,100.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) requires that the FHFA adjust the baseline conforming loan limit each year to reflect changes in the average US home price. According to the FHFA’s House Price Index (HPI) for the third quarter of 2018, house prices increased an average of 6.9% over the last 12 months.
The FHFA is also increasing loan limits for high-cost areas – areas in which 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit. Under HERA, the maximum loan limit in those areas is a multiple of the area median home value, with a ceiling on that limit of 150% of the baseline loan limit.
According to the FHFA, median home values increased in most high-cost areas in 2018. The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties in most high-cost areas will be $726,525, which is 150% of the baseline conforming loan limit of $484,350.
The FHFA uses different loan-limit calculations for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands. In these areas, the baseline loan limit for 2019 will be $726,525.
