Portland Real Estate Appraisal Brief – Wednesday, December 3, 2025: FHFA Raises 2026 Conforming Loan Limit to $832,750

Picture of Constitution Center (400 7th Street SW, Washington, D.C.) – headquarters of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). — Constitution Center (400 7th Street SW, Washington, D.C.) – headquarters of the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA).
Photo: Ajay Suresh via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

FHFA Announces 2026 Conforming Loan Limit Adjustments

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released its annual conforming loan limit values for 2026, effective January 1 for mortgages acquired by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The baseline limit for one-unit properties increases to $832,750 — up $26,250 from the 2025 figure of $806,500 — reflecting a 3.26% rise in the national House Price Index from the third quarter of 2024 to the third quarter of 2025.

All counties in Oregon and the Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro MSA remain at the baseline limit; no high-cost ceiling applies in our region.

Appraisal Implications for the Portland Region

In Q3 2025 alone, 99 residential properties in the six-county region closed between $806,501 and $832,750. Of those, 70 were financed conventionally — transactions that would have required jumbo terms in 2025 but will now stay fully conforming in 2026.

Across the full quarter (4,682 total SFR detached-class closings):

85.48 % (4,002 sales) closed under $900,000
Only 14.52 % (680 sales) closed at or above $900,000
The single busiest upper-tier band was $800,000 – $899,999 with 367 sales

Market Context from Q3 2025 Actual Sales

Price Band	# of Sales	% of Total Market	Avg Close Price	Avg CDOM
$800k– $899k	367	7.84 %	$847,313	51 days
$806,501 – $832,750	99	2.11 %	$820,864	49 days
≥ $900k	680	14.52 %	≈ $1,340,000+	72+ days

For appraisers, lenders, realtors, estate planners, and attorneys, the 2026’s higher limit removes friction from one of the region’s most active price segments and keeps 85+% of transactions comfortably conforming.

Sources & Further Reading

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About the Author — Abdur Abdul‑Malik, SRA, ASA

Abdur Abdul‑Malik is the founder, author, and publisher of the Portland Appraisal Blog, where he produces original regional and neighborhood‑level housing analytics for the Portland Region. He is a certified residential appraiser serving Oregon and Washington, drawing on RMLS transaction data, public records, and custom segmentation models he has built.

He developed the Portland Appraisal Blog Affordability Index (PABAI), a payment‑based affordability metric built from actual RMLS sales. PABAI incorporates weekly updates based on the prevailing 30‑year fixed mortgage rate, providing a locally grounded measure of housing affordability across the region.

Learn more → PABAI explainer • mortgage rate series • full author bio

Author: Abdur Abdul-Malik, SRA, ASA

Certified residential appraiser licensed in Oregon and Washington, serving the Portland and Vancouver areas. I extensively serve—and blog about—Clackamas, Columbia, Hood River, Multnomah, Washington, and Yamhill counties in Oregon, as well as Clark, Cowlitz, Klickitat, and Skamania counties in Washington. View all posts by Abdur Abdul-Malik, SRA, ASA