The Federal Housing Administration (FHA) just announced changes to their loan limits for 2022. The new FHA loan limits will be made available on January 1, 2022, and are designed to make it easier for more people to buy homes.
This is great news if you're looking for a mortgage or refinancing your current home, but there's still some important information that you should know before applying. Let's take a look at these major changes in the FHA Loan Limits for 2022!
What Are FHA Loan Limits?
FHA loans are backed by the government and therefore limited to certain parameters for borrowing, based on the location of the home being purchased. FHA loan limits for 2021 ranged from $356,362 to $822,375.
Because there are variations in housing markets across the country, the FHA classifies several counties as “high-cost.” The upper limit for FHA loans in the highest-cost counties, such as San Francisco, California, was $822,375 in 2021.
In low-cost counties such as Lucas County, Ohio, the upper limit for 2021 was $356,362. The FHA loan limits also apply to counties considered mid-range, as well. For example, Denver County, Colorado is considered a mid-range market. Thus the 2021 FHA loan limit there was $596,850.
What's New in 2022?
You may have heard that the past two years saw a huge rise in home prices across the country. The FHA is required to set Single Family forward mortgage loan limits at 115 percent of area median house prices, subject to a floor and a ceiling on the limits. Thus, since home prices have been rising, the FHA needed to adjust its loan limits to keep pace.
However, because the FHA loan limits are based upon the county, the new changes won't impact the entire country. The maximum loan limits for FHA forward mortgages will rise in 3,188 counties, while it will remain unchanged in 45 counties. You can visit HUD's website to find the FHA loan limit in your county.
What Are the New Loan Limits?
The FHA’s 2022 minimum national loan limit “floor” of $420,680 is set at 65 percent of the national conforming loan limit. The conforming loan limit is the dollar cap on the size of a conventional mortgage that the Federal National Mortgage Association (known to most as Fannie Mae) and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) will purchase or guarantee. This FHA “floor” applies to those areas where 115 percent of the median home price is less than the “floor” limit.
Any area where the loan limit exceeds this “floor” is considered a high-cost area, such as the Bay Area in California. The FHA has set its maximum loan limit “ceiling” for high-cost areas at $970,800, which is 150 percent of the national conforming loan limit. This is an increase of over 18 percent from 2021!
Takeaways
New FHA loan limits have been announced for 2022. The new limits are still determined by the median sale price in a given county, but due to rising housing costs, they have been set at more than 18 percent higher than the previous limits. These new limits are meant to help more homeowners purchase a home to fit their needs. If you’re introduced in an FHA home loan, we’d love to help! Reach out to our experienced team today.
