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Beginning next year, mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
will be able to acquire loans of up to $832,750 on single-family
homes in most of the country, the agency said Tuesday.
The new conforming loan limit is a 3.3% increase from its 2025
level.
FHFA oversees Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which buy home loans
from banks and other lenders, guaranteeing them against default.
The loans are then bundled into securities sold to investors.
But FHFA sets limits to the size of the loans that Fannie and
Freddie can buy. Such loans are known as conforming loans, while
mortgages above the conforming loan limit are known as jumbo
loans.
FHFA adjusts the limits of a confirming loan annually to reflect
changes in U.S. home values, which have been rising this year,
albeit more slowly.
The U.S. housing market has been in a slump since 2022, when
mortgage rates began climbing from historic lows. Sales of
previously occupied U.S. homes sank last year to their lowest
level in nearly 30 years.
Sales have remained sluggish this year, running essentially flat
compared to last year through the first 10 months of 2025, even
after getting a boost this fall as the average rate on a 30-year
mortgage declined to its lowest level in more than a year.
The FHFA’s House Price Index showed that, on average, U.S. home
prices climbed 3.3% in the July-September quarter compared to a
year earlier.
The 2026 single-family home conforming loan limit will apply to
most of the country, though the FHFA allows higher loan limits
for certain states, such as Alaska and Hawaii, and in counties
where the local median home value is more than double the
conforming loan limit.
For example, the conforming loan limit for single-family homes
in Los Angeles and New York counties will be $1,249,125 starting
next year.
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