Texas Conforming Loan Limits 2026
$832,750 statewide. Every Texas county uses the baseline limit. What that means for your purchase or refinance:
The Texas conforming loan limit for 2026 is $832,750 for a one-unit home, and every one of the 254 counties uses that same baseline. Texas has no high-cost counties, so the conventional loan limit in Austin, Houston, Dallas, and rural areas alike is identical. If your loan amount lands at or under that figure, you fit the conventional path; above it, you move into jumbo territory.
The 2026 Texas conforming loan limit is $832,750 for one-unit properties, applied uniformly across all 254 counties. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets this baseline annually based on national home-price changes; Texas has no high-cost counties for 2026, so no county uses a higher limit.
Why it matters: loans at or below this amount qualify for conventional pricing through Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Anything above is a jumbo loan with stricter underwriting and different pricing.
2026 figures:
- $832,750 (1-unit)
- $1,066,250 (2-unit)
- $1,288,800 (3-unit)
- $1,601,750 (4-unit)
Key facts
- $832,750: 2026 one-unit conforming limit, all 254 Texas counties (FHFA, Nov 25, 2025)
- $1,066,250 / $1,288,800 / $1,601,750: 2-unit / 3-unit / 4-unit baseline limits
- $1,249,125: 1-unit high-cost ceiling (150% of the baseline); not used in any Texas county for 2026
- No Texas high-cost counties for 2026. Every county uses the baseline.
- +3.26% year-over-year: matches the FHFA House Price Index change from Q3 2024 to Q3 2025
- Effective Jan 1, 2026 through Dec 31, 2026
2026 vs prior years
Texas conforming limits across years. All 254 Texas counties use the same baseline; this is the statewide figure.
| Year | 1-Unit | 2-Unit | 3-Unit | 4-Unit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| 2025 | $806,500 | $1,032,650 | $1,248,150 | $1,551,250 |
| 2024 | $766,550 | $981,500 | $1,186,350 | $1,474,400 |
Background and context
The conforming loan limit is the single most important number in the conventional mortgage market. It sets the dividing line between loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase, and loans that lenders have to keep on their own books or sell to private investors. That distinction drives pricing, underwriting flexibility, and how many lenders will compete for your file.
For 2026, every Texas county sits at the baseline of $832,750. There are no high-cost counties in Texas. The high-cost designation kicks in when 115% of a county's median home value exceeds the baseline, capped at 150% of the baseline (the $1,249,125 ceiling). Even Travis County, the highest-priced major Texas metro, doesn't hit that threshold. That uniformity makes Texas simpler to work in than states like California or New York, where county-by-county limits create real planning complications.
What this means in practice: if your loan amount is at or below $832,750, you have access to the broadest pool of conventional products and agency underwriting options. Above that, you're in jumbo territory.
Jumbo loans aren't worse, they're just different:
- stricter credit and reserve requirements
- larger down payments in many cases
- pricing that varies more lender-to-lender
On a borderline file, sometimes the right move is to bring in a slightly larger down payment to keep the loan inside the conforming limit. Sometimes it's not worth the cash tradeoff. I run both scenarios when the loan amount is close.
The FHFA announces the next year's limit at the end of November, effective January 1. The increase tracks the change in the FHFA House Price Index, Q3 to Q3. By statute (HERA 2008), the limit can rise but cannot fall. If home prices drop, the limit stays flat until prices recover. That's why the limit has only moved one direction since 2017.
Sources & methodology
All figures verified against primary sources as of May 11, 2026. This page is reviewed quarterly and after any FHFA announcement that changes the underlying figures.
- FHFA: 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Values announcement (November 25, 2025)
- FHFA: Conforming Loan Limit Values data page (full county XLSX, CSV, PDF)
- FHFA: 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Values FAQs (PDF, updated November 2025)
- Fannie Mae: Loan Limits
- Freddie Mac: Loan Limits
- Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), Pub.L. 110–289: the statute that requires FHFA to set conforming limits using the formula above
Questions I get about the conforming limit
What is a conforming loan?
A conforming loan is a conventional mortgage that meets the maximum loan amount set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) and follows the underwriting guidelines of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Loans at or below the conforming limit can be purchased by the two government-sponsored enterprises, which generally means broader agency product availability and more lender options than loans above the limit.
What happens if my loan amount is above $832,750?
A loan above the conforming limit is classified as a jumbo loan. Jumbo loans have stricter underwriting, generally require higher credit scores and larger down payments, and follow each individual lender's guidelines rather than Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac standards. Pricing varies more lender-to-lender on jumbos than on conforming loans.
Does Texas have any high-cost counties for 2026?
No. All 254 Texas counties use the baseline $832,750 conforming limit for 2026. High-cost designations apply only to areas where 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline; no Texas county hits that threshold.
How does the FHFA decide the conforming limit?
Under the Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA), the FHFA must adjust the baseline conforming limit each year by the year-over-year change in the FHFA House Price Index for the United States, measured Q3 to Q3. For 2026, the index showed a 3.26% increase, so the limit went from $806,500 to $832,750.
Why did the limit increase from 2025?
U.S. home prices increased 3.26% between Q3 2024 and Q3 2025 per the FHFA House Price Index. HERA requires the baseline conforming limit to match that percentage change, so the 2025 limit of $806,500 rose to $832,750 for 2026.
Does this apply to FHA and VA loans?
No. FHA and VA have separate loan limits. FHA limits are tied to the conforming limit by formula (a floor at 65% and a ceiling at 150% of the conforming limit) but vary county by county based on local home prices. VA loans have no loan limit for borrowers with full entitlement; partial-entitlement VA loans use the county conforming limit.
Can I still get a conventional loan above the limit?
Yes. Loans above the conforming limit are conventional jumbo loans. They aren't insured or purchased by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, but they're widely available from banks and wholesale lenders. Underwriting and pricing differ from conforming loans.
Does the conforming limit affect my mortgage rate?
Indirectly. A loan at or below the conforming limit typically prices according to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac pricing grids. A loan above the limit (jumbo) prices according to each lender's own grid, which can be higher or lower depending on the lender, the borrower's profile, and current market conditions.
Is the conforming loan limit in Texas the same in every county?
Yes. For 2026 the conventional loan limit in Texas is $832,750 for a one-unit home in all 254 counties. Because no Texas county carries a high-cost designation, the limit in Austin, Travis County, and the surrounding metro is the same baseline figure used in every other Texas county. That uniformity makes planning simpler here than in states where each county has its own number.
What is the difference between a conforming loan and a conventional loan in Texas?
All conforming loans are conventional, but not every conventional loan is conforming. "Conventional" just means the loan is not government-backed like FHA, VA, or USDA. "Conforming" means a conventional loan that also stays at or under the FHFA limit, which is $832,750 for a one-unit Texas home in 2026, so it can be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. A conventional loan above that limit is still conventional, but it is a jumbo rather than a conforming loan.
When do the 2026 Texas conforming loan limits take effect?
The FHFA announced the 2026 values in late November 2025, and the new $832,750 one-unit conforming limit applies to Texas loans with note dates on or after January 1, 2026, through December 31, 2026. If you are closing right at the turn of the year, the note date is what controls which year's limit your file uses, so timing can matter on a borderline loan amount.
How does the Texas conforming loan limit compare to the FHA limit?
They are set differently. The conventional conforming limit is one statewide number ($832,750 for a one-unit home in 2026), while FHA limits vary by county based on local home prices. In the Austin metro, which covers Travis, Williamson, Hays, Bastrop, and Caldwell counties, the 2026 FHA one-unit limit is $571,550. If you want the full FHA picture, see my Texas FHA loan limits 2026 page.
What is the 2026 conforming loan limit in Texas?
For 2026 the conforming loan limit in Texas is $832,750 for a one-unit home, and it is the same in all 254 counties because Texas has no high-cost areas. The FHFA sets this baseline each year, and it applies to conventional loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy. If your loan amount stays at or under that figure, you fit the conventional conforming path; above it, you move into jumbo financing.
What is the difference between a conforming loan and a jumbo loan?
A conforming loan stays at or under the FHFA limit ($832,750 for a one-unit Texas home in 2026), so it can be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and follows their shared guidelines. A jumbo loan is any amount above that limit; it is not bought by the two agencies, so each lender writes its own credit, reserve, and down-payment rules.
In practice that means jumbo underwriting is generally stricter and pricing varies more from lender to lender. I run a borderline file both ways so you can see which structure actually works better for you.
When do you need a jumbo loan in Texas?
You need a jumbo loan in Texas when the amount you are borrowing is higher than the conforming limit, which is $832,750 for a one-unit home in 2026 in every county. Because the limit applies to the loan amount and not the purchase price, a larger down payment can sometimes keep you under it and on the conventional path.
When a file is close to the line, I price it both as conforming and as jumbo and walk you through the tradeoffs before you decide.
What is the high-cost conforming loan limit?
The high-cost conforming loan limit is a higher ceiling, capped by law at 150% of the baseline, that the FHFA assigns to counties where local home values run far above the national norm. For 2026 no Texas county qualifies, so every Texas county uses the $832,750 baseline one-unit figure rather than a high-cost number. The high-cost ceiling matters in places like parts of California and the New York metro, but not here, which keeps planning in Texas simpler.
Loan amount close to the limit?
Send me your scenario. I'll run it as both conforming and jumbo and tell you which one wins on your file.