Jumbo vs Conforming Loan Limit 2027 Calculator

What is the 2027 conforming loan limit?

The conforming loan limit is the maximum loan amount that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will purchase from lenders. For 2027, the FHFA-set baseline is approximately $806,500 for single-family homes in most US counties, with high-cost area limits up to $1,209,750 in expensive markets (parts of California, New York, Hawaii, DC, and some Alaska counties). Loans at or below this limit are "conforming"; loans above are "jumbo" or "non-conforming."

The 2027 limit increased from 2026's $766,550 baseline, reflecting continued home price appreciation. The exact county-by-county limit is published annually by the FHFA in November for the following calendar year.

Jumbo loan rate premium and requirements

Jumbo loans historically carried a substantial rate premium (1-2%) over conforming, but in 2027 the gap has narrowed to approximately 0.10%-0.50% due to strong portfolio demand from banks. The premium varies by lender, with some "super-jumbo" private banks offering rates BELOW conforming for high-net-worth clients with deposit relationships.

Jumbo qualification requirements are stricter than conforming:

• 700+ FICO minimum (740+ for best rates)
• 10%-20% down (some lenders accept 5-10% with mortgage insurance)
• 43% DTI maximum (sometimes 36% on jumbo)
• 6-12 months PITI reserves (sometimes 24 months on super-jumbo)
• Two appraisals if loan >$1M (in many cases)

The piggyback 80/10/10 alternative

For loans just above the conforming limit, a piggyback 80/10/10 structure can be cheaper than a single jumbo. Setup:

• 80% first lien at conforming limit ($806,500 on baseline counties) — conforming rate
• 10% second lien (HELOC or fixed 2nd mortgage) — typically prime + 1-2%
• 10% cash down payment

Example: $950,000 home. Conforming first $760,000 @ 6.75%, second $95,000 @ 8.50% HELOC, $95,000 down. Avoids jumbo rate on the full $855,000 and avoids PMI. Trade-off: HELOC rate is variable, and combined monthly may exceed jumbo by $50-$150/month depending on rate environment. Best for buyers who plan to pay off the second lien within 5 years.

When does jumbo make sense vs piggyback?

Jumbo single-loan wins when:

• You have 20%+ down and want simplicity (one loan, one payment)
• Jumbo rates are tight to conforming (within 0.15% in 2027 for most borrowers)
• You have private banking relationships that get sub-conforming jumbo rates
• You don't want HELOC rate variability

Piggyback wins when: jumbo rate premium exceeds 0.30%, you have only 10% down, you can pay off the second lien quickly, or you want to keep the first loan size below the conforming threshold to ensure portfolio liquidity.

Source: FHFA 2027 Conforming Loan Limits announcement (November 2026), MBA Jumbo Index 2026 rate analysis.

High-Cost County Limits: Check Yours Before Assuming Jumbo

The baseline conforming limit is not the limit everywhere. FHFA sets a higher ceiling in designated high-cost counties, and a large share of buyers who assume they are in jumbo territory are in fact still conforming once the county ceiling is applied — which changes the rate, the down payment, and the reserve requirements the comparison above is built on. Look your county up before running the numbers, because two adjacent counties in the same metro can sit on different ceilings, and Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands run on the higher ceiling statewide. The official county-by-county table is published each year by the Federal Housing Finance Agency. Note also that the limit applies to the loan amount, not the purchase price — a larger down payment can pull a loan back under the ceiling and out of jumbo pricing entirely.

Practical order of operations: find the county ceiling, subtract your planned down payment from the price, and only if the remaining loan exceeds that ceiling does the jumbo column apply to you.