Loan Limits, and What Happens Above Them
Program and regulatory figures verified September 18, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
Two different ceilings can stop a condo purchase. It helps to know which one you are hitting.
Two separate problems
A condo transaction can fail for reasons that have nothing to do with each other, and they get confused constantly.
The loan amount is about your purchase. The 2026 baseline conforming limit for a one-unit property is $832,750, and designated high-cost counties run to $1,249,125. Above the applicable figure you are in jumbo or non-agency territory, and reserve and documentation expectations rise.
The project is about the building. Since August 3, 2026 every project over 10 units gets a Full Review, and from January 4, 2027 the reserve bar inside that review rises from 10% to 15% of budgeted income assessment.
A high-priced unit in a well-run building has one problem. A modest unit in a building with thin reserves has the other. A high-priced unit in a building with thin reserves has both, and that combination is common in older urban and coastal markets.
The limit is a county figure
High-cost designations are set per county and reviewed annually, so two buyers at the same price in neighbouring counties can sit in different categories. Confirm the current figure for the specific county rather than assuming either the baseline or the ceiling applies.
Above the line, with a project that fails
This is the scenario agency financing handles worst and the one we see most in coastal condo markets. Financing on projects that do not meet agency standards runs to $1,500,000 on a primary residence and $1,000,000 on a second home, without a condo questionnaire, which covers a good deal of the range above the conforming limit.
Terms are at financing a non-warrantable condo; the review criteria are at why projects fail review.
We are a lender. Association budgets, reserve studies and governance decisions belong to the board, its management company and association counsel. What we can tell you is what those decisions do to an owner's ability to finance or sell.
Frequently asked questions
What is the 2026 conforming loan limit?
$832,750 for a one-unit property, announced by FHFA on November 25, 2025. Designated high-cost counties run to a ceiling of $1,249,125, which is 150% of the baseline, and the applicable figure is set county by county.
Is a jumbo condo loan the same as a non-warrantable condo loan?
No, and they get confused often. Jumbo refers to the loan amount exceeding the conforming limit. Non-warrantable refers to the project failing agency standards. A purchase can be one, the other, or both, and the solutions differ.
How large a loan is available on a project that fails review?
To $1,500,000 on a primary residence and $1,000,000 on a second home, subject to the financing tiers by credit score and to borrower and property qualification.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, accounting or association-governance advice. Agency project standards change; association budgets, reserve studies and governance decisions belong to the board, its management company and association counsel. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification, and not all projects or borrowers will qualify.