By ALEX VEIGA, Associated Press
The Federal Housing Finance Agency is increasing the size of home loans that the government can guarantee against default as it takes into account rising housing prices.
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.
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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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