Homebuyers

Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Increase Loan Limits for Sixth Straight Year

For the sixth year in a row, the maximum conforming loan limits on mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are set to increase.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced this week that the conforming loan limit for Fannie and Freddie mortgages is increasing in almost every county in the country for 2022.

According to the FHFA, the conforming loan limits for most of the U.S. will increase from $548,250 for 2021 to $647,200 for 2022.

That's an increase of nearly $100,000 increase ($98,950, to be exact) from 2021 to 2022. In 2020, the loan limit was $510,400, meaning loan limits have risen by more than $136,000 in two years.

The 18.05% increase in loan limits from 2021 to 2022 is based on the FHFA home price index, which also showed an 18.05% increase in home prices from the third quarter of last year to the third quarter of this year.

Under the Housing and Recovery Act of 2008, the limit on the size of mortgages Fannie and Freddie can purchase is dictated by the average U.S. home price. As a result of the increases in home prices over the last year, the FHFA is increasing the GSEs' loan limit by the same percentage.

This marks the sixth straight year of increases for the conforming loan limits.

The loan limits are also increasing in "high-cost" areas, counties where 115% of the local median home value is above the baseline loan limit amount.

In those markets where home values are well above the typical housing market, like New York City and the Silicon Valley area, the maximum loan amount is higher than the rest of the country to account for those higher home prices.

According to the FHFA, home prices increased in those high-cost areas, just as they did in the typical markets, pushing the maximum loan limits up as well.

As a result, the new maximum loan limit for those "high-cost" areas will be $970,800 in 2022, up from $822,375 in 2021. In 2020, the maximum loan limit was $765,600.

The high-cost loan limit also applies to Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

As a result of home prices rising in nearly every part of the country over the last 12 months, the loan limits are increasing for all but four counties next year.

The new loan limits go into effect on Jan. 1, 2022.