Maximum Conforming Loan Limits to Remain Unchanged in the First Nine Months of 2011
Washington, DC – November 19, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced that, under terms set forth in a recently-enacted Congressional continuing resolution (Public Law Number 111-242), the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages originated in the first nine months of 2011 will remain unchanged from existing loan limits for 2010 originations. Those limits are generally $417,000 but can be as much as $729,750 in certain high cost areas in the contiguous United States. The maximum loan limits for counties across the United States can be found here (130 pages).
Under the continuing resolution, the highest loan limits that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac may set for mortgages originated during the federal government’s Fiscal Year 2011—which extends through September 2011—are to be equal to the higher of the maximums determined under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (ESA) and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). While the former limits are fixed dollar amounts, the HERA limits are updated each year. In setting loan limits for FY2011-originated mortgages, FHFA thus calculated 2011 HERA loan limits and compared the resulting values to limits established under ESA, which tend to be much higher. FHFA has found that the resulting maximum limits are the same as existing loan limits in every area of the country.
For more details behind the calculation of HERA Loan Limits, see attached. Remaining technical questions concerning the loan limits can be sent to 
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The Federal Housing Finance Agency regulates Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the 12 Federal Home Loan Banks. These government-sponsored enterprises provide more than $5.9 trillion in funding for the U.S. mortgage markets and financial institutions.
Contact:
Corinne Russell
(202) 414-6921
Stefanie Mullin
(202) 414-6376
