The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) recently announced in Mortgagee Letter 2018-11 a nearly 7% increase in the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) forward mortgage loan limits for 2019. As previously reported, the Federal Housing Finance Agency recently announced a nearly 7% increase in the conforming mortgage loan limits for 2019.

The FHA national low-cost area mortgage loan limit for a one-unit property increases from $294,515 to $314,827. The limit is based on 65% of the national conforming loan limit, which is $484,350 for 2019. The FHA national high-cost area mortgage loan limit for a one-unit property increases from $679,650 to $726,525. For Alaska and Hawaii, the mortgage loan limit for a one-unit property increases from $1,019,475 to $1,089,787.

The higher loan amounts are effective for case numbers assigned on or after January 1, 2019. Mortgagee Letter 2018-11 includes links to HUD webpages that set forth the applicable loan limits for each MSA and county. Maximum loan amounts for each area are set at or between the low-cost area and high-cost area limits based on the median home prices for the area.