2026 Conforming Loan Limits by Property Type

2026 conforming loan limits by property type

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets one set of baseline limits for most of the country and a higher ceiling for high-cost areas. Both rise with the number of units in the property.

Units	Baseline limit	High-cost ceiling
1 unit	$832,750	$1,249,125
2 units	$1,066,250	$1,599,375
3 units	$1,288,800	$1,933,200
4 units	$1,601,750	$2,402,625

High-cost and special areas

A county is treated as high-cost when its median home value pushes the local limit above the baseline; the cap then rises with local prices up to the 150% ceiling. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands are special statutory areas where the one-unit baseline itself is $1,249,125 and the ceiling reaches $1,873,675.

Because the limit is set county by county, two homes at the same price can fall on opposite sides of the conforming-versus-jumbo line depending on where they sit. FHFA publishes a county-level list each year.

How the limit is calculated

Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA), FHFA adjusts the baseline limit each year by the change in its house price index from the third quarter of one year to the third quarter of the next. For 2026 that change was 3.26%, so every limit rose by the same proportion. The new values take effect for loans originated on or after January 1, 2026.

The mechanism is automatic: when prices climb, the conforming ceiling follows, which keeps the share of the market eligible for Fannie and Freddie financing roughly steady from year to year.

Conforming vs jumbo

Staying at or under your county limit keeps you in conforming territory, where rates are typically lower and down payments can be smaller. Cross the line and you need a jumbo loan, which lenders hold more risk on — expect larger down payments, stronger credit and deeper cash reserves. If your price is near the cutoff, a slightly larger down payment can sometimes bring the loan back under the limit and into conforming pricing.

2025 vs 2026

The one-unit baseline rose from $806,500 in 2025 to $832,750 in 2026, and the high-cost ceiling from $1,209,750 to $1,249,125. The 3.26% bump is smaller than the prior year's jump, reflecting a cooler stretch in the national price index.