The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) recently announced the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018. In most of the U.S., the 2018 maximum conforming loan limit will be $453,100, a meaningful increase from $424,100 in 2017.
The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requires that the baseline conforming loan limit be adjusted each year to reflect changes in the average U.S. home value. FHFA publishes a quarterly House Price Index, which includes estimates for the increase in the average U.S. home value over the last four quarters. According to FHFA's data, house prices increased 6.8 percent, on average, between the third quarters of 2016 and 2017. Therefore, the baseline maximum conforming loan limit in 2018 will increase by the same percentage.
The new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties in most high-cost areas will be $679,650 — or 150 percent of $453,100. But, all of the counties on the eastern shore, as well as the surrounding Sussex County in Delaware and Accomack County in Virginia, will be at the $453,100 level. There are a number of counties in Maryland however that fall into the high-cost area category, such as Calvert, Prince George’s, and Montgomery counties.
There are also different categories based on how many units are included:
One Unit $453,100
Two Unit-- $580,150
Three Unit-- $701,250
Four Unit-- $871,450
For a list of the 2018 maximum loan limits for all counties across the U.S., visit fhfa.gov.
Lauren Bunting is a licensed Associate Broker with Bunting Realty, Inc. in Berlin, MD.
Lauren Bunting is a Broker with Keller Williams Realty of Delmarva in Ocean City, Maryland.
