- The 2026 baseline conforming loan limit is $832,750 for a one-unit property in most U.S. counties.
- The high-cost ceiling is $1,249,125, which is 150% of the baseline.
- Any single-unit mortgage above the applicable limit for the county is a jumbo loan.
- The 2026 limits are 3.26% higher than 2025, reflecting the FHFA House Price Index increase from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025.
- Limits increased in all but 32 U.S. counties for 2026.
- Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have special-area limits starting at $1,249,125 with a ceiling of $1,873,675.
The 2026 baseline jumbo loan limit.
On November 25, 2025, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) officially announced the 2026 conforming loan limits — the figures that determine where conventional financing ends and jumbo lending begins.
For 2026, the baseline conforming loan limit for a one-unit property in most U.S. counties is $832,750. Any single-unit residential mortgage above that figure is, by definition, a jumbo loan in those counties — also called a non-conforming loan, because it exceeds the size that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are statutorily permitted to purchase.
This baseline applies across the vast majority of U.S. counties — every state and territory except the high-cost areas and the special-statutory areas described below. If you're buying or refinancing in a typical county, $832,750 is the threshold to keep in mind. Below it, you're in conforming territory. Above it, you're in jumbo territory.
The 2026 high-cost ceiling.
Some U.S. counties — typically expensive metropolitan areas — qualify as high-cost areas under the rules established by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA). In these areas, the conforming loan limit is higher than the national baseline.
Specifically, when 115% of a county's local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming limit, the county is designated high-cost, and its conforming loan limit is set at a multiple of the local median home value — capped at 150% of the national baseline.
For 2026, that 150% ceiling produces a maximum high-cost area conforming limit of $1,249,125 for a one-unit property. In counties at the ceiling, any mortgage above $1,249,125 is a jumbo loan; in counties between the baseline and the ceiling, the threshold is whatever the county's specific limit is.
The exact limit for any specific county is published by the FHFA in its annual county-by-county conforming loan limit list. We always recommend confirming your county's specific limit at fhfa.gov/CLL before structuring a transaction near the threshold.
Not every "high-cost area" hits the $1,249,125 ceiling. Many sit between the baseline and the ceiling — for example, a county might have a 2026 limit of $1,089,300, which is above the $832,750 baseline but below the $1,249,125 cap. The threshold for a jumbo loan in that county is the county's actual published limit, not the national ceiling.
2026 jumbo limits for multi-unit properties.
The conforming loan limit isn't a single number — it scales by property type. Two-, three-, and four-unit residential properties (duplex, triplex, fourplex) have higher conforming limits than single-unit homes, reflecting their larger purchase prices and rental income potential.
| Property Type | 2026 Baseline Limit | 2026 High-Cost Ceiling |
|---|---|---|
| 1-unit (single family) | $832,750 | $1,249,125 |
| 2-unit (duplex) | $1,066,250 | $1,599,375 |
| 3-unit (triplex) | $1,288,800 | $1,933,200 |
| 4-unit (fourplex) | $1,601,750 | $2,402,625 |
If you're financing a duplex, triplex, or fourplex, the threshold for a jumbo loan is the multi-unit limit — not the single-unit limit. A $1,000,000 loan on a duplex in a baseline-limit county is conforming; the same loan amount on a single-family home in the same county would be jumbo.
Note that figures published by different sources occasionally vary by a few hundred dollars on the multi-unit limits due to rounding methodology. The figures above match the most commonly cited 2026 values, but for any transaction near the threshold, verify the exact limit using the FHFA's official 2026 county-by-county lookup table.
Properties with five or more units are not eligible for residential conforming financing at all — they're financed as commercial real estate, not residential. Read more about commercial multifamily loans →
Special-area limits (Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands).
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands operate under special statutory provisions in the conforming loan limit framework. In these locations, the baseline and ceiling limits are different — and significantly higher — than in the contiguous U.S.
| Special Area | 2026 Baseline (1-unit) | 2026 Ceiling (1-unit) |
|---|---|---|
| Alaska | $1,249,125 | $1,873,675 |
| Hawaii | $1,249,125 | $1,873,675 |
| Guam | $1,249,125 | $1,873,675 |
| U.S. Virgin Islands | $1,249,125 | $1,873,675 |
In these areas, the threshold for a jumbo loan is significantly higher than in the contiguous U.S. — only mortgages above the applicable special-area ceiling become jumbo loans. For Hawaii in particular, this matters: many transactions that would be jumbo in California or New York are conforming in Hawaii because of the higher baseline.
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See If You Qualify →2025 vs. 2026 — what changed.
The 2026 conforming loan limits represent the largest dollar increase in any single year over the past several years. Year-over-year, the figures changed as follows:
| Limit Type | 2025 | 2026 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1-unit baseline | $806,500 | $832,750 | +$26,250 (3.26%) |
| 1-unit high-cost ceiling | $1,209,750 | $1,249,125 | +$39,375 (3.26%) |
| Special-area baseline | $1,209,750 | $1,249,125 | +$39,375 (3.26%) |
| Special-area ceiling | $1,814,625 | $1,873,675 | +$59,050 (3.26%) |
The 3.26% increase applied uniformly because that's exactly the percentage change in the FHFA House Price Index between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025, as reported in the agency's Q3 2025 HPI release. The HERA statute requires the baseline limit to move in lockstep with the HPI, so the increase is mechanical, not discretionary.
According to the FHFA's announcement, conforming loan limits will be higher in all but 32 U.S. counties or county equivalents. Six counties moved from baseline to high-cost designation for 2026, and 31 counties had no change in their applicable limit.
How the FHFA calculates the limits.
The annual conforming loan limit adjustment isn't a policy choice — it's a mechanical formula written into federal law. Understanding the formula clarifies why the limit moves the way it does.
The HERA framework
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requires the FHFA to set the baseline conforming loan limit using the agency's House Price Index (HPI). Each year, the FHFA publishes its Q3 HPI report, which measures the change in average U.S. home prices over the prior four quarters. The baseline limit for the next calendar year is then adjusted by that same percentage.
The high-cost area calculation
For high-cost designation, HERA uses a 115% test: when 115% of the local median home value in a county exceeds the national baseline, the county is designated high-cost, and its specific limit is set as a function of local median home values. The cap on this calculation is 150% of the baseline — which produces the $1,249,125 ceiling for 2026.
The special-area provisions
Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have separate statutory provisions that establish their baseline at the same level as the high-cost ceiling, with their own cap at 150% of that figure ($1,873,675 for 2026).
Q3 HPI as the input
The FHFA's Q3 2025 House Price Index report — the input used to calculate the 2026 limits — showed national home prices rose 3.26% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 on a nominal, seasonally adjusted, expanded-data basis. That single number drove every figure in the 2026 announcement.
Which states have high-cost counties.
For 2026, Fannie Mae has identified high-cost areas in the following states and territories: California, Colorado, Connecticut, District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming.
Within those states, only specific counties qualify as high-cost — not the entire state. For example, in California, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Clara, Marin, San Mateo, and several other counties hit the $1,249,125 ceiling, while inland counties like Kern or Tulare may be at or near the baseline.
Six counties moved into high-cost designation for 2026 that weren't high-cost in 2025, and the FHFA announcement notes that all nine Connecticut counties now operate under new planning-region designations following Census Bureau boundary changes. If you're financing a property in any of these states, confirming the specific county limit is critical.
What the 2026 limits mean for borrowers.
The practical effect of higher conforming loan limits is significant. When the limit rises, transactions that would have been jumbo in 2025 may become conforming in 2026 — without any change in the property price.
If you were jumbo in 2025, you might be conforming in 2026
A loan amount of $815,000 was jumbo in 2025 (above the $806,500 limit) but is now conforming in 2026 (below the $832,750 limit). For borrowers in this band, that single fact can change the lender pool, the documentation requirements, the rate options, and the down payment structure.
The conforming-vs-jumbo decision is a real one
Conforming loans benefit from standardized GSE underwriting, deep secondary-market liquidity, and broad lender participation. Jumbo loans benefit from program flexibility and higher loan amounts. When you're near the threshold, your structure choice — how much you put down, whether you split into a primary and a piggyback — can determine which side of the line you land on.
Multi-unit and special-area buyers benefit most
The increases on multi-unit limits and special-area limits are larger in dollar terms than the single-unit baseline change. If you're financing a duplex, triplex, or fourplex, or buying in Alaska or Hawaii, the 2026 increase opens more conforming options than the headline numbers suggest.
When you exceed the 2026 limit.
If your loan amount exceeds the applicable 2026 conforming limit for your county and property type, you're in jumbo territory. That's not a problem — it just means you're working with a different product family.
Jumbo loans cover residential mortgages from the conforming threshold up into super-jumbo territory of $30M+ depending on lender. Specific programs include:
- Standard residential jumbo — full-doc, primary residence or second home
- Super-jumbo — typically loans above $3 million, with specialized underwriting
- DSCR jumbo — investment property loans qualified on rental income, not personal income
- Bank statement jumbo — for self-employed borrowers using bank deposits in lieu of tax returns
- Foreign national jumbo — for non-resident borrowers buying U.S. real estate
- Asset-based jumbo — qualifying on liquid asset reserves rather than income
The right jumbo program depends on loan size, property type, borrower profile, and use case. JumboLoan.com works with multiple wholesale lenders to match each borrower to the program that best fits their file. Read our complete jumbo loan guide →