WASHINGTON – Dec. 11, 2017 – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced the agency's new schedule of loan limits for 2018, which will increase in most areas of the country with 3,000 counties affected. The new loan limits go into effect on Jan. 1, 2018.
Under the National Housing Act (amended by the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 or HERA), FHA must set single-family forward loan limits at 115 percent of median house prices, subject to a floor and a ceiling on the limits. FHA calculates the limits by Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) and county.
In high-cost areas of the country, FHA's loan limit ceiling will increase to $679,650 from $636,150. FHA will increase its floor to $294,515 from $275,665.
Additionally, the national mortgage limit for FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs), or reverse mortgages, will increase to $679,650 from $636,150. HECM limits don't vary by MSA or county; instead, the single limit applies to all mortgages regardless of location.
The maximum loan limits for FHA forward mortgages will rise in 3,011 counties; in 223 counties, FHA's loan limits won't change.
Today, FHA's minimum national loan limit, or floor, is set at 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit of $453,100. This floor applies to those areas where 115 percent of the median home price is less than the floor limit. Any areas where the loan limit exceeds this 'floor' is considered a high-cost area, and HERA requires FHA to set its maximum loan limit "ceiling" for high-cost areas at 150 percent of the national conforming limit.
To find a complete list of FHA loan limits, areas at the FHA ceiling, areas between the floor and the ceiling, as well as a list of areas with loan limit increases, visit FHA's Loan Limits Page.