Conforming loan limit values for 2025

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1. Conforming loan limit values for 2025

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the maximum baseline conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in 2025 will rise to $806,500 — an increase of $39,950, or 5.2%, from 2024.

• The conforming loan limit will rise 5.2% because FHFA has determined that the average home value increased by that amount between the third quarters of 2023 and 2024.

Higher loan limits will be in effect in higher-cost areas as well. The new ceiling loan limit in high-cost markets will be $1,209,750, which is 150% of $806,500. The previous ceiling was $1,149,825.

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Separately, the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) is increasing the “floor” and “ceiling” FHA loan limits in 2025 to $524,225 and $1,209,750, respectively.

The floor is set at 65% of the national conforming loan limit. The floor applies to those areas where 115% 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. The maximum loan limit for high-cost areas is set at 150% of the national conforming loan limit.

2. Case-Shiller: Home-price growth has ‘stalled’

Home prices in the 20 biggest U.S. metros lost more steam in September, buckling under the pressure of high mortgage rates and historic unaffordability.

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller 20-city house price index rose 0.2% in September, compared to the previous month. Year-over-year, home prices were up 4.6%. That's a deceleration compared to an increase of 5.2% the previous month.

Prices could lose more momentum in the coming months. The 30-year mortgage rate was largely below 7% for July, August, and September, which the Case-Shiller index covers, but rose sharply after the presidential election in early November.

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3. More Nuggets

▶️ United Wholesale Mortgage CEO talks mortgage refinancing demand. (CNBC)

📝 Real estate agents’ new buyer agreements may harm buyers, DOJ says. (Costar)

🛠️ FHFA releases GSEs’ three-year plans to improve housing access in underserved communities. (FHFA)

📊 HousingWire’s mortgage rate forecast for 2025 (~5.75% to 7.25%). (HousingWire)

💸 20 states with the highest average credit scores. (NMN)

4. Court grants final approval of NAR settlement

It’s official: A legal settlement that will rewrite the way many real estate agents are paid in the United States has received its final approval from a federal judge.

Judge Stephen R. Bough of the Western District of Missouri yesterday approved an agreement between the National Association of Realtors and a group of home sellers who sued the real estate trade group over its longstanding rules on agents’ commissions, which they say forced them to pay excessive fees.

It was the last step in an eight-month process that was set in motion when N.A.R., the nation’s largest trade association, agreed to the landmark deal on March 15.

5. New home sales down 17.3% in October

Steadily rising mortgage rates coupled with ongoing affordability challenges kept many potential home buyers on the sidelines in October.

Sales of newly built, single-family homes in October declined 17.3% to a 610,000 seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to newly released data from the Census Bureau. Year over year, the pace of new home sales is down 9.4%.

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