Lenders getting a jump on higher 2026 conforming loan limits

Home prices are no longer soaring in many markets, but lenders are still looking to get a jump on the competition by raising their conforming loan limits in advance of an official announcement in November by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s federal regulator.

The nation’s largest lender, United Wholesale Mortgage (UWM), announced Wednesday^[1] that it will price loans of up to $819,000 as if they were conforming — $12,500 above Fannie and Freddie’s current baseline conforming loan limit of $806,500^[2].

Pennymac, another major player in wholesale and correspondent mortgage lending, followed suit by matching UWM’s new limits beginnning Friday, Sept. 19^[3].

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More lenders are expected to follow suit — welcome news to homebuyers who might get better terms if they need to take out a “jumbo mortgage^[5]” that’s too big for Fannie and Freddie to back today, but which could soon fall within their limits.

Unofficial conforming loan limits (UWM, Pennymac)

Unofficial conforming loan limits adopted by UWM and Pennymac in September 2025.

With higher limits for multi-unit properties and high-cost markets like Alaska and Hawaii, UWM and Pennymac are now originating mortgages with balances of up to $2.36 million that are considered “jumbo” today, but should soon be eligible for purchase and guarantee by Fannie and Freddie.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA), will release the official 2026 conforming loan limits in November, based on the latest home price data.

It’s become standard procedure^[6] for many lenders to make an educated guess at what the new conforming loan limits will be in the year ahead, and start offering better terms to some jumbo mortgage borrowers whose loans will soon be eligible for backing by Fannie and Freddie.

Pricing jumbo loans as if they were conforming helps lenders compete for high-end borrowers, since conforming loans often offer better rates and terms than jumbo mortgages.

Baseline conforming loan limit, 2000-2025

Source: Federal Housing Finance Agency

When mortgage rates hit historic lows during the pandemic, soaring home prices pushed the conforming loan limit up by a record $98,950 in 2022, an 18 percent increase from the year before.

This year’s 5.21 percent increase in the conforming loan limit was the smallest since 2017, when it inched up 1.7 percent. Before that, the conforming loan limit was static for a decade, as home prices recovered from the Great Recession of 2007-2009.

Congress has tied the conforming loan limit to the average U.S. home price, as measured by the FHFA House Price Index^[7].

The cautious 1.5 percent increase in the unofficial conforming loan limits rolled out by UWM and Pennymac are in line with projections that home price appreciation has slowed.

In a Sept. 19 forecast^[8], economists at the Mortgage Bankers Association estimated that national home price appreciation slowed to an annual rate of 1.8 percent during the third quarter of this year, and that home prices appreciation will turn slightly negative (-0.2 percent) in the second half of 2026.

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References

1. ^{^} announced Wednesday (www.uwm.com)
2. ^{^} conforming loan limit of $806,500 (www.inman.com)
3. ^{^} beginnning Friday, Sept. 19 (tpo.pennymac.com)
4. ^{^} TAKE THE INMAN INTEL SURVEY FOR SEPTEMBER (www.research.net)
5. ^{^} jumbo mortgage (www.inman.com)
6. ^{^} become standard procedure (www.inman.com)
7. ^{^} FHFA House Price Index (www.fhfa.gov)
8. ^{^} Sept. 19 forecast (www.mba.org)
9. ^{^} Mortgage Brief Newsletter (www.inman.com)
10. ^{^} Click here to subscribe. (www.inman.com)
11. ^{^} Email Matt Carter (www.inman.com)