The Federal Housing Finance Agency will raise the national conforming loan limit for 2019 by 6.9 percent from $453,100 to $484,350.
In addition, the high-cost limit will rise from $679,650 to $726,525. As a result, loan limits will be higher in all but 47 counties or county equivalents across the country beginning on Jan. 1.
The FHFA’s limits define the maximum one unit single-family mortgage amounts that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may finance and are also used to define the loan limits for the Federal Housing Administration’s program.
“The National Association of Realtors is pleased to see the Federal Housing Finance Agency raise its national conforming loan limits for 2019. This decision reflects rising or near record high home prices in many U.S. markets, and the move helps keep the American Dream within reach for countless families working with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Without this assurance that loan limits keep up with home price growth, borrowers across the country risk being pushed out of the market altogether as mortgage rates and rising home prices continue to hold back potential homebuyers,” says NAR President John Smaby.
Hamilton County’s conforming loan limit for 2019 will be $484,350.
Each year, the FHFA updates the national and high-cost limits based on the FHFA’s national price index. The market for private financing has improved but remains hobbled since the recession, requiring more onerous standards of would-be homebuyers who do not possess pristine credit or face high rates.
Source: NAR