Freddie Mac (FMCC.OB) has recently said its maximum conforming loan limits for the first nine months of 2011 will be unchanged from those in effect during 2010 as the result of new calculations from the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
News Facts:
The base conforming loan limits (applicable to non-high cost areas) for all of 2011 remain:
o $417,000 for mortgages on one-unit properties; o $533,850 for mortgages on two-unit properties; o $645,300 for mortgages on three-unit properties; and o $801,950 for mortgages on four-unit properties.
Maximum loan limits for the nation's high cost areas for the first nine months of remain unchanged from last year. The current maximum high cost limit is $729,750 for a 1-unit single family property in the contiguous United States, although actual loan limits for a specific high-cost area may be lower than the maximum permitted loan limit.
The 2011 maximum loan limits for high cost areas are in effect for mortgages originated through September 30, 2011, consistent with a Congressional continuing resolution that extends the current maximum limits.
The continuing resolution sets the maximum loan limits for high cost areas for the first nine months of 2011 as the higher of the maximum limits determined under the Economic Stimulus Act of 2008 (ESA) and the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA). These limits are updated annually by FHFA.
After calculating the 2011 HERA loan limits and comparing them to the ESA limits, FHFA determined the maximum loan limits for high cost areas for the first nine months of 2011 would be the same as the 2010 maximum loan limits for these areas.