The 2026 Conforming Loan Limit in Boston: $962,550

One number decides whether your mortgage is an ordinary conforming loan or a jumbo, and in the Boston area counties that number is $962,550 for a one unit property.

What conforming means

FHFA publishes conforming loan limit values every year. At or under the limit, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to buy the loan from the lender. That is why conforming loans are underwritten to a published rulebook and priced the way they are. Above the limit, the loan is a jumbo: the lender either keeps it or sells it outside the Enterprises, and it sets its own reserve, down payment and documentation requirements.

Where the baseline comes from

The Housing and Economic Recovery Act requires FHFA to adjust the baseline each year to reflect the change in the average US home price. FHFA reported that house prices increased 3.26 percent, on average, between the third quarters of 2024 and 2025, so the baseline rose by the same percentage. In most of the United States the 2026 value for one unit properties is $832,750, an increase of $26,250 from 2025. FHFA noted the values went higher in all but 32 US counties or county equivalents.

The Massachusetts map

In Massachusetts the number depends on the county. Essex, Middlesex, Norfolk, Plymouth and Suffolk counties, which share the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH statistical area, are at $962,550 for one unit, $1,232,250 for two units, $1,489,500 for three and $1,851,100 for four. Barnstable, Berkshire, Bristol, Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire and Worcester counties sit at the national baseline, so one unit is $832,750 and two units are $1,066,250. Dukes and Nantucket counties are at the ceiling.

The ceiling

FHFA caps high cost areas at 150 percent of the baseline, which makes the 2026 ceiling for one unit properties $1,249,125. Special statutory provisions put Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the US Virgin Islands at that figure as their baseline, with a higher ceiling above it.

What it means when you’re shopping

If the price you’re looking at leaves your loan a little over the line, a larger down payment can pull it back under and keep you in conforming territory. And on a two, three or four unit property the line already sits higher: $1,232,250, $1,489,500 and $1,851,100 in these counties.

Before you write the offer

Ask your lender for a quote on both sides of the line if you’re close to it, and check the county the property sits in rather than the county you live in now. Looking at something near the limit in Greater Boston this fall? Send me the address and the loan amount you have in mind and I’ll tell you which side you’re on. Diana Kim, REALTOR®, eXp Realty.