On Thursday, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) that almost every area in the U.S. will see FHA loan limits increase in 2018. In addition, the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced it was also boosting limits for those loans in more than 3,000 counties.

The increase in new loan limits will take effect for FHA cases assigned on or after Jan. 1, 2018.

Let’s take a peek at the short history of the number of increases for counties in the U.S.

• 2016 – The FHA increased loan limits for 188 counties
• 2017 – The FHA increased loan limits for 2,948 counties
• 2018 – The FHA increased loan limits for 3,011 counties, but in 223 counties, the FHA loan limits will remain the same.

The news follows Federal Housing Finance Agency’s recent announcement that it plans to increase the maximum conforming loan limits for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2018.

The official website to look up FHA loan limits by county can be found at FHA Mortgage Limits Search.

For a brief overview see the breakdowns below:

Loan Limit Floors

The Floor Limit

The “floor” loan limit is the lowest an FHA limit can be for any area of the country.  To paint you a picture, the floor limit has increased from $275,665 to $294,515 for one-unit properties.  What that means is someone can put just 3.5% down on a sales price up to $305,196.

The Ceiling Limit

Just like it sounds, the “ceiling” loan limit is the national high-cost area loan limit for higher-cost areas.  The FHA ceiling limit increased from $636,150 up to $679,650 for one-unit properties.  That means someone can put just 3.5% down on a sales price up to $704,300.

The FHA increases typically happen each year, so for the most current limits always check with your lender.

The Certo Team
55 N. Arizona Place Suite #103
Chandler, AZ 85225
602-429-6789