April 20th, 2021 9:53 AM by Sam Kader MLO130505
DON’T WAIT FOR THE NEW YEAR 2021 TO QUALIFY MORE FOR YOUR LOANS.The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released the new conforming loan limits which will be in place in 2021 for mortgages acquired by the GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. We’re honoring and accepting the new conventional loan limits below now in 2020.
What's the benefit of having a conforming loan amount?
Conforming loans have the lowest effective rates (FHA rates may be lower, but they carry mortgage insurance). They also have different qualification standards (typically "easier") than loans for higher amounts. For example, a borrower can apply for up to $548,250 loan amount on a single family home (not purchase price) and still gets Conforming Conventional Rate.
The high-cost area (high balance) 2021 loan limits such as here in Seattle, WA are as shown below:
Loan amount higher than these high-cost area loan limits are considered a Jumbo loan. For specific County and State - please click the map here.
Does this apply to FHA/VA/USDA loans?
Not immediately, and not equally. As announced by HUD, the FHA County Loan Limits will change effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2021. When that happens, you can always use this page to determine your county's limit. VA is a bit different depending on how much entitlement you have (read more on the VA site).