Conventional Loan and Refi Limits 2024

Each year, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac publish loan limits. Most lenders in the country follow these limits and other guidelines from these agencies.

Often, these limits determine how much you can borrow for both home purchases and refinances. If your loan amount is more, you may need a jumbo loan or other loan type that is more difficult to qualify for.

Key Takeaways

• The baseline conventional loan limit for 2024 is $766,550, with higher limits of $1,149,825 in certain high-cost areas like Alaska and Hawaii.
• Conventional loan limits exist to keep mortgages affordable and determine whether your loan is conforming or jumbo.
• Jumbo loans, which exceed conventional loan limits, often have stricter qualifications and higher interest rates than conforming loans.
• You may be able to refinance a jumbo loan to a conventional loan if the balance now falls within the current loan limits.
• Loan limits are set by the FHFA each year and tend to rise when home prices increase.

How Much Are Conventional Loan and Refi Limits in 2024?

The baseline loan and refi limit for conforming loans in 2024 is $766,550 for most areas of the country.

For higher-cost areas such as Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the limit is higher at $1,149,825.

Note: Those figures apply only to single-family homes. The FHFA also publishes baseline figures for multi-family dwellings with between two and four units. You can’t get a conforming loan if a building contains more than four residential units.
Here are 2024’s baseline limits for single-family and multi-family homes:

Units	Contiguous states, DC, and  Puerto Rico	Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and  the U.S. Virgin Islands
1	$766,550	$1,149,825
2	$981,500	$1,472,250
3	$1,186,350	$1,779,525
4	$1,474,400	$2,211,600

If you live in a high-cost area within the contiguous states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, your local limit might be as high as:

• 1 unit:   $1,149,825
• 2 units: $1,472,250
• 3 units: $1,779,525
• 4 units: $2,211,600

Your local limit could be in between the base loan limit and the high-cost one. Fannie Mae provides an Area Median Income lookup tool that also shows your local conventional loan limit.

What Are Conventional Loan and Refi Limits?

Conventional loan limits are set each year by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) to determine the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can back. These limits exist to keep mortgages affordable and to provide a clear boundary between conforming loans and jumbo loans.

If your loan stays within these limits, it’s considered a conforming loan, which typically offers lower interest rates, fewer qualification hurdles, and more favorable terms compared to jumbo loans. Jumbo loans, which exceed these limits, often come with higher rates, stricter credit requirements, and larger down payment demands.

These loan limits apply to the loan amount—not the purchase price—meaning you can still buy a home above these limits if you have the funds to make up the difference with a larger down payment.

For most borrowers, conventional loan limits allow the purchase of a better-than-average home without needing a jumbo loan. But if you’re considering a more expensive property, exceeding the loan limits could push you into jumbo loan territory, where different rules apply.

How Are Loan Limits Determined?

Each November, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes conventional loan and refi limits based on its House Price Index. It increases loan limits based on how much home prices increased over the previous year.

The limit applies to conforming loans, or conventional mortgages that conform with Fannie and Freddie’s requirements, opened the following calendar year. 

The FHFA sets a baseline limit for the country: $766,500 for 2024. If home prices are higher than average in an area, you may be able to borrow more.

According to Fannie, high-cost areas exist only in California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wyoming. 

There are only pockets in those states where home prices are high enough to get you the maximum cap.

Certain non-contiguous states and overseas territories have much higher construction costs than elsewhere in the U.S. So, Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, and the U.S. Virgin Islands all have high baseline loan limits.

And as long as home prices are rising, the cap should continue to rise annually at the same rate as home prices. In 2024, loan limits increased in all but five counties across the United States.

In all cases, you’ll need to qualify for the loan by meeting or exceeding your lender’s criteria, regardless of caps. These include things like your employment history or income sources, credit score and report, existing debts, and down payment size. 

You’ll always need to show a lender that you can comfortably afford the payments on your mortgage.

Jumbo Loans

We mentioned jumbo loans earlier. These allow you to borrow far above the conventional loan and refi limits.

The downsides of these can exclude some from using them. They typically (though not always) come with higher rates than other mortgages. 

Although things have been easing recently, you may need a higher down payment and better credit score than a conforming conventional loan. Some lenders like to see a substantial cash cushion of 6-12 months’ payments to reassure them.

Importantly, as federal regulator the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warns, “Non-conforming loans are less standardized. Eligibility, pricing, and features can vary widely by lender, so it’s particularly important to shop around and compare several offers.” 

Can You Refinance a Jumbo Loan to Conventional?

You can refinance a jumbo loan to a conventional loan if the outstanding balance falls within conventional loan limits.

Almost everywhere, conventional loan and refi limits rise each year, assuming home prices are rising. That’s certainly been the case for the last several years.

So, if you have a jumbo loan you took out a while back, you might now qualify for a conforming loan. The cap might have risen to meet or exceed your jumbo mortgage’s current balance.

These conforming mortgages tend to have lower rates than jumbo loans anyway, and if rates fall after a time of elevated rates, you might benefit even more. 

In some cases, you might be eligible for a conventional loan limit by opening a home equity line of credit (HELOC) on top of your maxed-out conventional loan, bridging the gap.

See What You Qualify For

Most borrowers won’t hit conventional loan limits when buying or refinancing a home. But even at lower loan amounts, it’s worth making sure you qualify. 

Check your eligibility for the loan you need with a reputable lender.

More Reading

How to Get a Conventional Refinance: 2024 Guidelines

Can An FHA-to-Conventional Refinance Save You Money?

Compare Current Refinance Rates

What to Know About Conventional 97 Loans