At a glance: The current single-family conforming loan limit for most counties in Washington State is $726,200 (an increase over the 2022 cap of $647,200). In the more expensive Seattle-area counties of King, Pierce, and Snohomish, the single-family loan limit has been increased to $977,500 for 2023.
How These Limits Are Set:
Washington State conforming loan limits are determined by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). The Housing and Economic Recovery Act of 2008 (HERA) requires the FHFA to monitor and track average home prices in the U.S., and to annually adjust the baseline jumbo loan limit as needed to reflect changes in national home values.
In other words, if prices go up considerably in a certain county, FHFA may increase the corresponding loan limits to keep pace with rising home values. That’s what happened from 2021 to 2022. Conforming limits are usually set at 115% of the median home price for each area, though they can exceed this level in some high-cost areas.
The 2023 conforming limit for most counties in Washington State is $726,200. The three exceptions to this baseline amount are King, Pierce, Snohomish counties. (See the table above for county-by-county details.)
In recent years, FHFA has used the median home values estimated by the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is part of HUD. So there are several federal housing agencies involved in determining loan limits.
Why They Were Increased for 2023:
We predicted that federal housing officials would increase the Seattle jumbo loan threshold in response to significant home-price gains that occurred during the year. That prediction turned out to be accurate. In fact, the FHFA raised limits across most of the country.
According to a recent news release from FHFA:
“The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) today announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) in 2023. In most of the United States, the 2023 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $726,200, an increase of $79,000 from $647,200 in 2022.”
So, the vast majority of counties across the U.S. will see higher caps in 2023, compared to 2022. Home prices nationally rose by an average of around 13.5% during 2022. In Washington, the median house value rose by around 11%. That is why we are seeing higher Washington State conforming loan limits in 2023.