Conforming vs FHA vs jumbo loan limits

What the three loan terms mean

A conforming loan limit is the highest loan amount for a mortgage that Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac can acquire. The limit can vary by county, and mortgages above the county’s conforming limit are called jumbo loans. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not buy jumbo loans; lenders set their own rules for them.

An FHA loan limit is the maximum loan amount for an FHA-insured forward mortgage in an area. The Federal Housing Administration, part of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), sets a floor and a ceiling. The conforming limit and FHA limit are separate limits, even though both use FHA-estimated median home values in their calculations.

How conforming limits are set

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets conforming limits each year under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008. FHFA updates them at the end of November, and the new limits take effect on January 1. For 2026, the baseline limit for a one-unit home is $832,750.

In an area where 115 percent of the local median home value is higher than the baseline, the conforming limit is set at 115 percent of that median. The limit cannot be higher than 150 percent of the baseline. FHFA uses median home values estimated by FHA.

FHFA groups counties by metro and micropolitan areas. Every county in an area gets the value based on its highest-cost county. For example, Santa Barbara County’s median home value was $819,000. At 115 percent, that produced a 2026 conforming limit of $941,850.

How FHA limits differ

FHA limits also use 115 percent of median home value, but have a floor as well as a ceiling. Where 115 percent of the median is below the floor, the floor applies. For a one-unit home in 2026, that floor is $541,287, lower than the $832,750 conforming baseline. The FHA floor equals 65 percent of the conforming baseline.

The one-unit FHA ceiling for 2026 is $1,249,125, the same as the one-unit conforming ceiling. HUD sets the FHA high-cost ceiling at 150 percent of the national conforming limit. An area’s FHA limit may be below the ceiling, so the ceiling is not the limit for every county.

HUD’s 2026 FHA limits apply to FHA case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. HUD publishes county-by-county FHA figures in its FHA Mortgage Limits lookup.

Comparing 2026 limits

For one-unit homes, the 2026 conforming baseline is $832,750, while FHA limits range from a floor of $541,287 to a ceiling of $1,249,125. In high-cost areas, the conforming limit can rise above its baseline, up to the same $1,249,125 ceiling.

The limits also vary by the number of units in a home. The 2026 conforming baselines for two-, three- and four-unit homes are $1,066,250, $1,288,800 and $1,601,750. The FHA floors for those homes are $693,050, $837,700 and $1,041,125; their ceilings are $1,599,375, $1,933,200 and $2,402,625.

A loan limit is not a home-price limit

A loan limit caps the amount of the loan, not the home’s price. A buyer can purchase a more expensive home with a larger down payment and still use a conforming or FHA loan, as long as the loan amount stays within the applicable limit.

For two-to-four-unit homes, the units must be in one building. A duplex, triplex or fourplex fits that description; buildings with five or more units use commercial multifamily financing and are not covered by these conforming limits. Readers can confirm the limit for a specific area with a lender or the agency.