Mortgage borrowers who want to finance a property that exceeds conforming loan limits will need to take out a jumbo loan. A jumbo loan is a mortgage that does not conform to loan limits set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). In this article, we’ll discuss how much you’ll need to borrow to reach jumbo loan limits for your county.
The term “jumbo loan limit" can be a bit misleading, since there’s no official upper limit for a jumbo loan. However, jumbo loans are guided by the conforming loan limit (CLL) assigned to their county. Any loan amount above the CLL for a certain area is considered a jumbo loan. For example, if the CLL in your county is $806,500, a mortgage of $806,501 or above would be considered a jumbo loan.
CLLs are adjusted every year to reflect changes in the market, which means jumbo loan limits can also change every year. For 2025, CLLs range from $806,500 to $1,209,750 for a one-unit property in most of the U.S. This means that jumbo loans start at $806,501 and can go up to the millions. The amount you can get approved for depends on the maximum loan amount a lender is willing to provide. Some lenders cap jumbo loan limits at $2-$4 million, while others are willing to lend $5 million, or more.
Jumbo loans work similarly to regular mortgages. You can take out a jumbo loan at a fixed or adjustable interest rate for 30 years, or less. However, since jumbo loans can’t be bought or insured by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, they’re riskier for lenders to issue. To compensate for the greater risk, most lenders offer jumbo loans at higher interest rates.
Lenders usually also have different loan qualifications for jumbo loans versus conforming loans. Some require a higher down payment minimum (10-20%), a high credit score (typically 720), a lower debt-to-income ratio (a maximum of 43%), and oftentimes cash reserves equal to 12 months of mortgage payments.
In most parts of the country, the conforming loan limit is $806,500 for single-unit properties, which would make a mortgage loan of $806,501 or more a jumbo loan. However, CLLs are different for high-cost areas, which naturally increases the jumbo loan limit in that area.
The conforming loan limit chart below shows the price point at which mortgages become jumbo loans for single-family homes. Any homes that you’re using a mortgage to finance more than the conforming loan limit listed for that area will likely require a jumbo loan.
Property Type | Most of the continental U.S., the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico | High-cost areas in the continental U.S., Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, U.S. Virgin Islands |
---|---|---|
1 unit | $806,500 | $1,209,750 |
2 units | $1,032,650 | $1,548,975 |
3 units | $1,248,150 | $1,872,225 |
4 units | $1,551,250 | $2,326,875 |
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