United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, a conforming loan is a
mortgage loan
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
that both meets the underwriting guidelines of
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...
and
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.GSE) and that does not exceed the conforming loan limit. The most well-known guideline is the size of the loan, which for 2024 was generally limited to $766,550 for one-unit single family homes in the continental US. Other guidelines include borrower's
loan-to-value ratio
The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is a financial term used by lenders to express the ratio of a loan to the value of an asset purchased.
In real estate, the term is commonly used by banks and building societies to represent the ratio of the first ...
(i.e. the size of down payment), debt-to-income ratio, credit score and history, documentation requirements, etc.
In general, any loan that does not meet guidelines is a non-conforming loan. A loan that does not meet guidelines specifically because the loan origination amount exceeds the guideline limits during its acquisition year is known as a jumbo loan.
History
Starting in 1970,
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...
was authorized by the
United States Government
The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the Federation#Federal governments, national government of the United States.
The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct ...
to purchase residential
mortgage loan
A mortgage loan or simply mortgage (), in civil law (legal system), civil law jurisdictions known also as a hypothec loan, is a loan used either by purchasers of real property to raise funds to buy real estate, or by existing property owners t ...
s. Fannie Mae worked with
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.Federal Housing Finance Agency which calculates and sets the conforming loan limit on an annual basis based on statutory guidance.
Importance
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuously in the market for conforming loans; because of this, conforming loans benefit from greater
liquidity
Liquidity is a concept in economics involving the convertibility of assets and obligations. It can include:
* Market liquidity
In business, economics or investment, market liquidity is a market's feature whereby an individual or firm can quic ...
than non-conforming loans.
Criteria
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes annual conforming loan limit (CLL) that restricts the highest origination amount for a mortgage that can be purchased or securitized by
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...
and
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.jumbo loan, and typically has higher rates associated with it. This is because both
Fannie Mae
The Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA), commonly known as Fannie Mae, is a United States government-sponsored enterprise (GSE) and, since 1968, a publicly traded company. Founded in 1938 during the Great Depression as part of the New ...
and
Freddie Mac
The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC), commonly known as Freddie Mac, is an American publicly traded, government-sponsored enterprise (GSE), headquartered in Tysons, Virginia.secondary market
The secondary market, also called the aftermarket and follow on public offering, is the financial market in which previously issued financial instruments such as stock, bonds, options, and futures are bought and sold. The initial sale of ...
, making the demand for a non-conforming loan much less. By virtue of the laws of supply and demand, then, it is harder for lenders to sell the loans, thus it would cost more to the consumers (typically 1/4 to 1/2 of a percent.)
A temporary increase in the CLL for high-cost areas of living was incorporated into the 2008 economic stimulus package. Congress authorized an increase of the single family residences limits to the lesser of $729,750 or 125% of the median home value within a metropolitan statistical area (MSA). The new Jumbo-Conforming program was adopted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac effective from April 1, 2008 until December 31, 2010. The bill was signed into law by President Bush on February 13, 2008, but the new rates were not being honored by any lenders (as of March 30, 2015).
The baseline CLL for 2017 increased and applied to loans delivered to Fannie Mae in 2017 (even if originated prior to 1/1/2017). This was the first time the CLL had increased since 2006. Each subsequent year has seen a further increase in the baseline CLL. Statutory provisions also provide for high-cost area loan limits that are defined on a county-by-county basis and can be as much as 150% of the baseline value. This upper-bound is often referred to as the high-cost area ceiling. The high-cost area limits are set at 115% of the highest county median house price in the local area as long as that amount does not exceed the ceiling.
Conforming Loan Limits
Per the Federal Housing Finance Agency:Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Conforming Loan Limits for Mortgages Acquired in Calendar Year 2022 and Originated after 10/1/2011 or before 7/1/2007 Federal Housing Finance Agency, Last updated 2021-11-30.*As mentioned above, since legislative changes in 2008, a select number of counties have been assigned high-cost area limits that exceed the baseline CLL (i.e. in 2022, high-cost area limits exist for slightly more than 100 counties out of over 3000 in the United States). These local limits cannot exceed the high-cost area ceiling which also varies by the number of units in a property. Recently, as the baseline CLL has been increasing since 2017, there have been a declining number of counties with high-cost area CLLs because their local median county house price values have been increasing at a slower pace than the national trend.