Announcement

Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) issues increased maximum loan limits for 2017

November 23, 2016

 

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has issued the maximum loan limits that will apply to conventional loans to be acquired by Fannie Mae in 2017, increasing those limits for the first time since 2006. The new limits are effective for mortgage loans delivered into MBS with pool issue dates on or after January 1, 2017. Loan limits apply to the original loan amount of the mortgage loan, not to its balance at the time of purchase by Fannie Mae. 

First Mortgage Loan Limits 

The first mortgage loan limits are defined in terms of general loan limits and high-cost area loan limits. 

The following chart contains the general loan limits for 2017:

Units

General Loan Limits

Contiguous States,

District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico

Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. Virgin Islands

One

$424,100

$636,150

Two

$543,000

$814,500

Three

$656,350

$984,525

Four

$815,650

$1,223,475

The high-cost area loan limits are established for each county (or equivalent) and are published on Fannie Mae’s website and on FHFA’s website. The maximum limits for 2017 are: 

Units

High-Cost Area Loan Limits

Contiguous States,

District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico*

Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and U.S. Virgin Islands

One

$636,150

$954,225

Two

$814,500

$1,221,750

Three

$984,525

$1,476,775

Four

$1,223,475

$1,835,200

* A number of states and Puerto Rico do not have any high-cost areas in 2017. 

High-cost area loan limits are derived from median home prices estimated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) of the Department of Housing and Urban Development. FHA will permit a 30-day appeals period during which requests for individual area median home price increases will be evaluated. FHFA will issue a subsequent announcement if any individual high-cost area loan limit is increased as a result of the appeals process. Updates resulting from subsequent FHFA announcements will be posted on Fannie Mae’s website.

A link to Fannie Mae’s Lender Letter regarding the new loan limits is available here.

For any questions, please contact the Fannie Mae Investor Help Line at 1-800-232-6643, Option 2 or by e-mail.