Original Article – https://www.car.org/aboutus/mediacenter/newsreleases/2021releases/2022loanlimits
The CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.) today issued the following statement in response to the Federal Housing Finance Agency’s (FHFA) announcement to increase the 2022 conforming loan limits for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to $647,200 on one-unit properties and a cap of $970,800 in high-cost areas. The previous loan limits were $548,250 and $822,375, respectively.
“With California’s home prices climbing so significantly during the pandemic, C.A.R. commends the FHFA for recognizing the record-setting home price increases and raising maximum conforming loan limits in high-cost markets to $970,800,” said 2022 C.A.R. President Otto Catrina. “Conforming loans provide safe and affordable mortgages to California’s homebuyers across the state. If loan limits were not allowed to increase every year to keep up with home prices, first-time and moderate-income homebuyers across the state would not have access to affordable mortgage capital, which reduces homeownership opportunities for those who need it the most.”
C.A.R. and the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (NAR) both have long advocated for loan limits to reflect an area’s cost of housing. As a result of C.A.R.’s and NAR’s efforts, areas with high median home prices have benefited from a loan limit above the national conforming loan limit.
The conforming loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or “guarantee.” Non-conforming or “jumbo loans” typically have tighter underwriting standards and sometimes carry higher mortgage interest rates than conforming loans, increasing monthly payments and hampering the ability of families in California to purchase homes by making them less affordable.
Since these mortgages are guaranteed by the government, California taxpayers and households should have the same equal access to safe and affordable capital that Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and FHA loans provide as any other state.