Most people who say they're "moving to Sacramento" end up somewhere else: Roseville, Folsom, Elk Grove, Rocklin, Lincoln, El Dorado Hills, Citrus Heights, or up the hill in Grass Valley. Those suburbs sit in four different counties, and that single fact changes your loan limits, your property-tax bill, and sometimes the loan program that makes the most sense. This guide walks through what is actually different from one side of a county line to the other, and how to finance a home in each.
Four counties, one metro
Greater Sacramento is really a four-county puzzle:
- Sacramento County — Sacramento, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Folsom, Rancho Cordova
- Placer County — Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Loomis, Auburn
- El Dorado County — El Dorado Hills, Cameron Park, Placerville
- Nevada County — Grass Valley, Nevada City, Penn Valley
The first three share a metropolitan statistical area (Sacramento–Roseville–Folsom), so their 2026 FHA limit is identical. Nevada County is its own statistical area (Truckee–Grass Valley) with its own, lower FHA ceiling. Conforming limits are the national baseline in all four.
2026 loan limits by county
| County (areas) | 2026 conforming limit (1-unit) | 2026 FHA limit (1-unit) | HUD 2026 area median price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sacramento (Elk Grove, Citrus Heights, Folsom) | $832,750 | $764,750 | $665,000 |
| Placer (Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln) | $832,750 | $764,750 | $665,000 |
| El Dorado (El Dorado Hills) | $832,750 | $764,750 | $665,000 |
| Nevada (Grass Valley) | $832,750 | $649,750 | $565,000 |
What the table means in practice:
- Conforming — Up to $832,750 on a single-unit home, you're in conventional territory in every Sacramento-area county. Above that, you're shopping jumbo — common in El Dorado Hills, parts of Folsom, and the custom-home pockets of Rocklin and Granite Bay.
- FHA — The $764,750 FHA ceiling in Sacramento, Placer and El Dorado counties covers the large majority of the resale market. Grass Valley's FHA ceiling is lower ($649,750), which still clears most of Nevada County's price range.
- Multi-unit — Duplex through four-plex limits are higher in every county; the full table is in our California loan limits guide.
Mello-Roos and special assessments: the payment you don't see on Zillow
Much of the region's newer housing — West Roseville, Twelve Bridges in Lincoln, Folsom Ranch, south Elk Grove, Whitney Ranch in Rocklin — sits inside a Community Facilities District (commonly called Mello-Roos). Those districts levy a special tax, collected with the property tax bill, to pay for the roads, parks and infrastructure that made the neighborhood possible.
Three things to know before you write an offer:
- Lenders count it. Your qualifying housing payment includes taxes, and Mello-Roos is part of your tax bill. The same home with and without a CFD can produce a noticeably different monthly payment and debt-to-income ratio.
- It varies by neighborhood, not by city. Two streets in the same ZIP code can carry very different special taxes depending on which district (if any) they fall in. The amount and the remaining term are disclosed in the seller's disclosures and on the county tax bill.
- Base property tax is roughly 1% plus local add-ons. California's Proposition 13 caps the base rate at 1% of assessed value; voter-approved bonds and special assessments stack on top. The district a home sits in — not the county — is what moves the number.
Ask your loan officer to pull the actual tax bill for any home you're serious about. It takes minutes and removes the biggest surprise in a Sacramento-suburb pre-approval.
New construction: builder lenders and the incentive math
Roseville, Lincoln, Folsom, Elk Grove and Rocklin all still have active new-home communities, and builders often attach financing incentives — closing-cost credits or temporary rate buydowns — to using their affiliated lender.
That can be a genuinely good deal. It can also be a headline that hides a higher rate or fee structure. The only way to know is to compare the builder's full Loan Estimate against an outside quote on the same day, same lock period, and same loan type. A local loan officer can run that comparison line by line; the result is sometimes "take the builder's offer" and sometimes "the incentive is smaller than it looks."
Two timing notes for new builds: construction timelines can slip past a standard rate lock, so ask about extended-lock options early; and if the community has a CFD (see above), the special tax usually starts the year after the home is completed.
Which loan fits which suburb?
Every program is available everywhere, but patterns emerge:
- Citrus Heights and older Sacramento County neighborhoods have the most inventory under the FHA ceiling, which makes FHA and CalHFA-assisted purchases common — see our CalHFA MyHome guide for how the down-payment help works.
- Roseville, Rocklin, Folsom and Elk Grove are predominantly conventional markets, with a steady share of VA purchases given the region's veteran population and Beale Air Force Base to the north.
- El Dorado Hills tilts toward jumbo and high-balance structures; asset and income documentation gets more involved above the conforming line.
- Lincoln carries two distinct markets in one city: new construction near Twelve Bridges and resales in Sun City Lincoln Hills, an age-qualified community with its own HOA documentation requirements.
- Grass Valley includes rural and acreage properties where well, septic and access details affect appraisals and program eligibility; USDA financing may be available for addresses in USDA-eligible areas of the county.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a different pre-approval for Placer County than for Sacramento County? No — one pre-approval works across the region. But your loan officer should quote the payment using the actual tax rate and any Mello-Roos for the specific neighborhood you're targeting, because that is what determines what you qualify for.
Is a jumbo loan harder to get? Jumbo loans are underwritten by the lender rather than sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so documentation and reserve requirements are typically more detailed. They're routine in El Dorado Hills and Granite Bay; the process simply starts earlier.
Can I use FHA on a home with Mello-Roos? Yes. The special tax is included in your qualifying payment like any other property tax, and the home must otherwise meet FHA property standards.
Where can I see the county-by-county limits for the rest of California? Our 2026 California loan limits guide lists every county, including the high-cost coastal counties at the national ceiling.
Talk to someone who lives here
Xpert Home Lending's loan officers live and work across the Sacramento region — serving Roseville, Rocklin, Lincoln, Folsom, El Dorado Hills, Elk Grove, Citrus Heights and Grass Valley — and they price Mello-Roos, builder incentives and county limits into pre-approvals every week. Start a conversation when you're ready.
Sources
- FHFA 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Values — county-level conforming limits
- HUD FHA Mortgage Limits — 2026 FHA limits and area median prices by county
- California State Board of Equalization — Proposition 13 — base property-tax rate and assessment rules
- California Debt and Investment Advisory Commission — Mello-Roos Community Facilities Act — CFD background and disclosure requirements
Loan limits are published annually by FHFA and HUD and are current for 2026 as of August 2026; special-tax amounts, builder incentives and program terms vary by property and change without notice. This is general information, not a loan offer, a commitment to lend, or tax advice. Xpert Home Lending Inc., NMLS #2179191. Equal Housing Lender.