Published October 2026
Whether a mortgage is “conforming” or “jumbo” comes down to one comparison: is the loan amount above the limit that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are allowed to buy? For 2026 that limit is set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency, and this guide sticks to what the agencies’ own pages say: the 2026 number, which Richmond-area counties I checked, how the line moves when you change your down payment, and what to ask a lender. It makes no claims about local prices or interest rates, because you do not need either to see where the line sits.
The 2026 limit, and the Richmond-area counties I checked
FHFA’s 2026 announcement sets the baseline conforming loan limit for a one-unit home at $832,750, up 3.26 percent ($26,250) from 2025. Counties designated high-cost can go as high as $1,249,125, which is 150 percent of the baseline. The limits apply to loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquire in calendar year 2026, and FHFA resets them every year, so the number you see next year will be a new one.
To find out where our market falls, I opened FHFA’s published 2026 county limit list and looked up each jurisdiction Mission Realty serves: Chesterfield County, Henrico County, Hanover County, Goochland County, Powhatan County and the city of Richmond. Every one of them shows the baseline one-unit limit of $832,750. None carries a high-cost designation. A purchase in Short Pump, in Midlothian or in Powhatan therefore faces the same one-unit line.
The same list gives higher limits for two- to four-unit properties ($1,066,250, $1,288,800 and $1,601,750 in the counties I checked). Everything below assumes a single-family home.
What conforming and jumbo mean in practice
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s explainer on jumbo loans defines a jumbo mortgage as one that exceeds the maximum amount Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy from lenders. That is the whole eligibility test. A loan at or under the limit can be sold to either company, provided it meets their other requirements. A loan over the limit is, by definition, one they will not buy, so the lender or investor behind it decides its own terms.
How different are those terms? The CFPB page says only that a jumbo loan may cost more than a conforming one. It gives no figures, and I did not find an agency page that states reserve, credit score or rate differences, so I will not quote any. Treat those as items to get in writing from each lender. If credit is your concern, our guide to minimum credit scores by loan program compares the programs, and our jumbo loan basics for the $800K to $1M range covers what shoppers at that level run into.
The line is the loan amount, not the purchase price
People often hear “the limit is $832,750” and assume it caps what they can spend. It caps the loan. Your down payment decides how far the price can run past it. Here is the arithmetic for a hypothetical $900,000 purchase price. That figure is a round number chosen for the example, not a statement about what Richmond homes cost.
| Down payment | Amount down | Loan amount | Against the $832,750 limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5% | $45,000 | $855,000 | $22,250 over (jumbo) |
| 10% | $90,000 | $810,000 | $22,750 under (conforming size) |
| 20% | $180,000 | $720,000 | $112,750 under (conforming size) |
To land exactly on the limit at a $900,000 price, you would put down $67,250, which is 7.47 percent. Run it the other way and the limit supports different prices: with 5 percent down, a loan of $832,750 matches a price of about $876,579; with 10 percent down, about $925,278; with 20 percent down, $1,040,937.50. A few thousand dollars of extra cash at closing can move a loan across the line, and what a lender charges on each side of it is a quote to request, not a number to assume. You can test your own combinations in our mortgage calculator, and our guide to down payment options by loan program lays out what each program asks for.
Picked a loan type? Plan the rest of the timeline.
Once you know whether you are headed for a conforming or jumbo loan, the next question is what happens, and when, between contract and keys. We have a downloadable Richmond closing-timeline checklist. Request it and we will send it to you.
FHA and VA measure the loan differently
FHA loans have their own limits, set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development. HUD’s 2026 announcement puts the one-unit FHA forward-mortgage floor at $541,287 and the ceiling at $1,249,125 for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2026. The limit for a given county falls somewhere in that range, and it is not the same number as the conforming limit. I have not verified the FHA figure for the Richmond-area counties in this guide. You can pull it yourself from HUD’s FHA mortgage limits lookup by choosing Virginia, FHA Forward, limit year CY2026 and your county.
VA loans work on a different principle. According to the Department of Veterans Affairs’ page on entitlement and limits, a borrower with full entitlement has no VA loan limit, but only if the lender approves the loan on credit, income, debts and assets, and the appraisal supports the price. A borrower with remaining entitlement, meaning some was already used and not restored, is tied to the county loan limit: the remaining bonus entitlement is 25 percent of the county’s one-unit limit minus what was used, and lenders typically want that amount, a down payment, or both to cover 25 percent of the loan. The conforming figure for the counties above is $832,750, so a borrower in that position should ask the lender to run the numbers on the VA’s formula before bidding.
What to ask a lender before you set a ceiling
Bring these to the first conversation. Our preferred lenders page is a place to start if you have not picked someone.
- Which limit applies to this county and unit count, and what loan amount do you get at 5, 10 and 20 percent down on the price I have in mind?
- Is the loan amount you are quoting the number compared with the limit, or does something get added on top of the price?
- If I land above the line, what changes in writing: rate, minimum down payment, cash reserves, credit score and documents?
- How much more down payment would bring me under the line, and how much cash does that leave me?
- Is the rate fixed or adjustable? If it is adjustable, our guide to 5/6 ARMs versus a 30-year fixed explains how they work.
- Does the monthly payment fit my income? See how much income you need to afford a home for the framework.
With a ceiling in hand, browse all current listings or the luxury homes in Richmond and filter to the number you were quoted. Our buyer process page explains how we work from there.
Next step after choosing a loan type
Request the downloadable Richmond closing-timeline checklist and see what happens between contract and closing.
Not legal or financial advice. This guide is general information. Mission Realty is a brokerage, not a lender, and nothing here is a loan offer or a recommendation of a loan product. Loan limits change every year, so confirm current figures with FHFA, HUD, the VA and your lender. For legal questions about a contract or financing, consult a Virginia real estate attorney.
Frequently asked questions
Do the conforming loan limits change every year?
Yes. The CFPB notes that the limits are set each year, and FHFA’s announcement raised the 2026 one-unit baseline by 3.26 percent, or $26,250, to $832,750. The 2026 limits apply to loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac acquire in calendar year 2026, so check FHFA again when a new year’s values are published.
Does a jumbo loan mean I am buying a luxury home?
No. Jumbo describes the size of the loan relative to the limit, not the type of home. The same house can produce a jumbo loan with a small down payment and a conforming-size loan with a larger one, as the $900,000 hypothetical showed.
Is the limit different for a duplex or fourplex?
Yes. On FHFA’s 2026 county list, the counties I checked show $1,066,250 for two units, $1,288,800 for three units and $1,601,750 for four units, compared with $832,750 for one unit. Those figures are for the Richmond-area counties named above; other counties can differ.
Is the FHA limit the same number as the conforming limit?
No. HUD publishes its own FHA limits. For 2026 the one-unit range runs from a $541,287 floor to a $1,249,125 ceiling, and each county falls somewhere between. Look up the county on HUD’s FHA mortgage limits page rather than assuming it matches the conforming figure.
If I used VA entitlement on an earlier home, does the limit matter?
It can. The VA says a borrower with full entitlement has no VA loan limit, but a borrower with remaining entitlement is tied to the county limit through a formula based on 25 percent of that limit minus entitlement already used. Ask the lender to calculate what is left before you set a ceiling.
Where can I check the official county numbers myself?
FHFA publishes a Conforming Loan Limit page, a downloadable list of every county’s 2026 limits and an interactive map. HUD hosts the FHA lookup, and the VA’s loan limits page explains entitlement. Between them you can confirm every figure in this guide without relying on anyone’s summary.
Does being under the limit guarantee a conforming loan?
No. The limit is one test, the loan amount. A conforming loan also has to meet the other requirements of Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and of the lender, so ask the lender to confirm the loan type in writing along with the quote.
