WASHINGTON – Dec. 17, 2018 – The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) announced the agency’s new schedule of loan limits for 2019, with most areas in the country to experience an increase in loan limits in the coming year. These loan limits are effective for FHA case numbers assigned on or after Jan. 1, 2019 and mirror earlier limits announced by the Federal Housing Finance Administration (FHFA).

In high-cost areas of the country, FHA’s loan limit ceiling will increase to $726,525 from $679,650. FHA will also increase its floor to $314,827 from $294,515.

FHA says that increases in median housing prices required changes to FHA’s floor and ceiling limits, which are tied to the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)’s increase in the conventional mortgage loan limit for 2019.

Overall, the maximum loan limits for FHA forward mortgages will rise in 3,053 U.S. counties. In 181 counties, FHA’s loan limits will remain unchanged.

By statute, the median home price for a Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) is based on the county within the MSA having the highest median price. HUD has used the highest median price point for any year since the enactment of the Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA).

The cap for reverse mortgages – FHA-insured Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECMs) – will increase to $726,525 from $679,650. FHA’s current regulations implementing the National Housing Act’s HECM limits do not allow loan limits for reverse mortgages to vary by MSA or county.

The National Housing Act, as amended by HERA, requires FHA to establish floor and ceiling loan limits based on the loan limit set by FHFA for conventional mortgages owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHA’s 2019 minimum national loan limit, or floor, of $314,827 is set at 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit of $484,350. 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 ($726,525) of the national conforming limit.

© 2018 Florida Realtors®

Source: Florida Realtors