If you are going be in the market to buy a home in the mid to upper price ranges next year, you could be in luck. Your mortgage may cost less, thanks to an increase in the price of loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy from mortgage originators.
In most areas of the nation, this means home buyers taking out mortgages priced at $424,100 or below will now avoid the higher costs and more stringent qualification standards required by most jumbo loans.
The ceiling for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac mortgages, currently at $417,000, hasn’t increased in ten years despite rising home prices. In areas where homes are more expensive, such as greater New York City and the San Francisco Bay region, loan limits are higher. In the nation’s highest cost counties, borrowers will be able to take out mortgages worth as much as $636,150 thanks to the new loan limits.
Here is a list of 2017 loan limits by county and this map shows where counties with higher loan limits are located.
FHA also raised its loan limit. In high-cost areas, the FHA national loan limit ceiling will increase to $636,150 from $625,500. FHA will also increase its limit in lowest cost counties to $275,665 from $271,050. Here is a complete list of new FBA loan limits and a list of FHA loan limits by county.
Higher ceilings on loans are expected to increase home sales by making mid to higher cost mortgages less expensive and more accessible to home buyers. The new limits also will make refinancing less expensive for some homeowners whose homes’ values have appreciated into higher price brackets.
Read more about recent changes in the housing market here.
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