North Jersey produced the strangest loan-limit story in the country for 2026: the FHA ceiling here is higher than the conforming limit. Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, and Union counties all carry a conforming limit of $1,209,750 — but the FHA limit is $1,249,125, a full $39,375 more.
The 2026 numbers
| County (Area) | 2026 Conforming Limit | 2026 FHA Limit (1-unit) |
|---|---|---|
| Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, Union | $1,209,750 | $1,249,125 |
How does FHA end up above conventional?
A quirk of two different rulebooks. These counties price off the New York metro area, where the conforming limit has been held at $1,209,750 under FHFA's "hold-harmless" rules — local appreciation didn't push it up to the new national ceiling. FHA, meanwhile, recalculates against the 2026 national ceiling of $1,249,125 and lands there. The result: an FHA-eligible buyer can technically finance a larger loan than a conforming conventional buyer at the same address.
What it means in practice
- Seven-figure FHA is real here. 3.5%-down FHA financing reaches to $1,249,125 across all six counties — territory most buyers assume demands jumbo credit and 20% down.
- The conforming line still matters for conventional buyers. Above $1,209,750, a conventional loan goes jumbo, with the tighter underwriting that implies. In the band between the two limits, FHA may be the only low-down-payment game in town.
- Condo and co-op buyers, plan ahead. FHA condo financing requires project approval, and North Jersey's co-op stock generally doesn't fit FHA at all — building eligibility is the first question, not the last.
Beyond the limits
- Down payment help: the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency offers assistance programs through approved lenders; terms and funding are updated through the year.
- VA buyers: no loan limit with full entitlement — which in this market is an extraordinary benefit.
- Property taxes are the North Jersey line item. The nation's highest property tax bills change qualifying math more than any limit does — underwrite the real tax number street by street, not the county average.
Sources
- FHFA: Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (announced Nov 25, 2025) and the FHFA 2026 county loan limit list
- HUD: FHA Announces 2026 Loan Limits, Mortgagee Letter 2025-23, and the HUD CHUMS county limit data file, CY2026
- VA home loan limits (no limit with full entitlement)
Loan limits shown are for one-unit properties; two- to four-unit properties have higher limits. All figures are current as of August 2026 and reset annually. Down payment assistance programs are administered by their respective agencies, have their own eligibility requirements, and change without notice. This is general information, not a loan offer or a commitment to lend — talk to a local Xpert loan officer for numbers specific to you.