In the United States, a conforming loan is a mortgage loan that conforms to GSE (Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac) guidelines. The most well-known guideline is the size of the loan, which as of 2017 was generally limited to $424,100 for single family homes in the continental US. Other guidelines include borrower's loan-to-value ratio (i.e. the size of down payment), debt-to-income ratio, credit score and history, documentation requirements, etc.
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In general, any loan which does not meet guidelines is a non-conforming loan. A loan which does not meet guidelines specifically because the loan amount exceeds the guideline limits is known as a jumbo loan.
History
Starting in 1970, Fannie Mae was authorized by the United States Government to purchase residential mortgage loans. Fannie Mae worked with Freddie Mac to develop uniform mortgage documents and national standards for what would come to be known as a conforming loan.
Importance
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are continuously in the market for conforming loans; because of this, conforming loans benefit from greater liquidity than non-conforming loans.
Criteria
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) publishes annual conforming loan limits which dictates the mortgages that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy. The maximum loan amount is set based on the October-to-October changes in median home price, above which a mortgage is considered a jumbo loan, and typically has higher rates associated with it. This is because both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac only buy loans that are conforming, to repackage into the secondary market, making the demand for a non-conforming loan much less. By virtue of the laws of supply and demand, then, it is harder for lenders to sell the loans, thus it would cost more to the consumers (typically 1/4 to 1/2 of a percent.)
Conforming Loan Limits
Per Fannie Mae:
2008 Economic Stimulus Bill
A temporary increase in the Conforming Loan Limits for high-cost areas of living has been incorporated into the 2008 economic stimulus package. Congress has authorized an increase of the single family residences limits to the lesser of $729,750 or 125% of the median home value within the metropolitan statistical area (MSA). High-cost loans are only available through FHA loans.
The bill was signed into law by President Bush on February 13, 2008, but the new rates are still not being honored by any lenders (as of March 30, 2015).
The new Jumbo-Conforming program has been adopted by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac effective April 1, 2008 until December 31, 2010.