The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced it is increasing maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2017.
This marks the first increase in the baseline limit since 2006. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requires annual adjustments to reflect changes in the national average home price. Prior to this year, the average U.S home price failed to reach pre-decline levels seen in 2007, preventing any baseline increases.
Now that average home prices have surpassed 2007 levels, the maximum limits for 2017 — both general limits and limits for high-cost areas where 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline limit — will be:
| One unit | Two units | Three units | Four units | |
| General | $424,100 | $543,000 | $656,350 | $815,650 |
| High-cost areas | $636,150 | $814,500 | $984,525 | $1,223,475 |
Exact loan limits vary by location, dependent on local home values. Most of California’s counties conform to the general limits above. However, the state’s high-cost counties — particularly urban and coastal areas — will have steeper loan limits in 2017.
(Click for interactive map)
The increased loan limits for single-unit properties in California’s more costly counties, from highest to lowest, are:
- $636,150 for Alameda, Contra Costa, Los Angeles, Marin, Napa, Orange, San Benito, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, San Mateo, San Francisco and Ventura Counties;
- $625,500 for Santa Barbara County;
- $612, 950 for San Diego County;
- $595,700 for Sonoma County;
- $586,500 for San Luis Obispo County;
- $575,000 for Monterey County;
- $529,000 for Mono County;
- $488, 750 for El Dorado, Sacramento, Placer and Yolo Counties;
- $463,450 for Alpine County;
- $477,250 for Nevada County; and
- $431,250 for Solano County.
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