A High-Balance Mortgage for High-Cost Markets.
In higher-cost counties, a high-balance loan lets you borrow above the standard conforming limit while keeping conventional-style guidelines.*
Quick answer
Saxton Mortgage does. At least one conventional program we offer includes high-balance loans with fixed and adjustable rates, and its matrix lists a 580 minimum credit score. At least one program reaches $1,249,125 on a one-unit primary home. High-balance is not available at the smallest down payment tier.
More room in high-cost markets.
These rules come from Fannie Mae and from the high-balance programs we offer.
- Three-unit loans from $1,288,801 up to $1,933,200*
- Four-unit loans from $1,601,751 up to $2,402,625*
- Owners of seven or more financed properties use a separate program*
- Community Seconds and Affordable Seconds allowed on a primary home*
- Not offered in Alaska or several U.S. territories at one program*
- Escrow holdbacks for minor repairs are not allowed at one program*
Freddie Mac calls it super conforming
Extra pricing adjustments apply
Single-wide homes are excluded
Condo appraisals compare outside sales
Every file runs through DU
Temporary buydowns on purchases
How High-Balance Loans Differ
Higher conforming limits for high-cost counties, backed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac
The Saxton High-Balance Loan is a full-featured mortgage that uses the higher conforming limits set for designated high-cost counties, with conventional-style guidelines, a smart fit before stepping up to a jumbo loan.
Freddie Mac’s version of this loan is called super conforming. On the Fannie Mae side, every high-balance loan must still meet the standard Selling Guide eligibility and underwriting rules, except where its high-balance chapter sets a different requirement.
If no borrower has a credit score, the loan must stay within baseline limits, which rules out high balance. On a co-op, your loan plus your prorated share of the building’s blanket mortgage has to fit under the limit. Learn more about second home and investment property.
What changes above the baseline limit
Built for buyers in counties where prices run above the national limit.
Mortgage Insurance Can Be Financed
Fannie Mae permits borrower-purchased mortgage insurance to be financed into a high-balance loan rather than paid in cash. The financed premium still has to fit within the program’s overall limits.
High CU Scores Mean Review
At one program, a property with a Collateral Underwriter score of 4.0 or more needs a field review*. If the field review value differs, the lowest of the appraisal, field review or price is used. Learn more about condos.
Your County Sets The Limit
Fannie Mae publishes state maximums, but each county has its own high-cost limit, which may be lower. Lenders confirm the limit for your address with Fannie Mae’s Loan Limit Geocoder.
Condo Comps Inside And Out
At one program, the appraisal on an attached condo must include one comparable sale from the subject project and a second one from outside it*.
Every Borrower Must Live There
On a super conforming cash-out of a primary home, a co-borrower who lives elsewhere is not permitted at one program*. Each borrower on that refinance has to occupy the property.
High Cost Counties
Higher limits apply where local prices run above the national conforming limit.
Hear From Homeowners Like You
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers on unit counts, appraisals, second liens and property rules above the baseline.
Saxton Mortgage does. At least one conventional program we offer includes high-balance loans with fixed and adjustable rates, and its matrix lists a 580 minimum credit score. At least one program reaches $1,249,125 on a one-unit primary home. High-balance is not available at the smallest down payment tier.
At one program, Hawaii high-balance loans reach $1,299,500 for one unit, $1,663,600 for two, $2,010,950 for three and $2,499,100 for four*. The amount still cannot exceed the limit for your county.
Yes, at one program, when the second lien is a Community Second or an Affordable Second*. The home must be your primary residence and cannot be a manufactured home. Buydown loans cannot carry subordinate financing there.
At one program, yes, with limits*. Single-wide homes and investment use are not allowed, and the loan cannot rely on an LPA approval. A cash-out on a manufactured home is limited to a primary residence there.
Often, yes. Fannie Mae applies specific additional loan-level price adjustments to every high-balance loan, on top of all its other adjustments, and they add up. Your loan officer can show how those adjustments affect your quote.
Yes, at one program, on a purchase only*. Investment properties and subordinate financing are excluded. The buydown money must come from an interested party such as the seller, and you qualify at the full note rate rather than the reduced one.
Not on an owner-occupied home at one program*. A refinance without cash out may still be possible in Texas if it meets that program’s rules for refinancing a Texas home equity loan, so the existing lien matters.
Yes. One program offers adjustable-rate options alongside its fixed-rate high-balance loans*. Its shortest adjustable option is not available on manufactured homes, so the property type can narrow your choices. We compare both structures on your actual loan amount. Learn more about cash-out refinancing.
A high balance loan is a conventional loan for an amount above the standard conforming limit, in a county where the limit is set higher because housing costs more there. It still follows conventional agency guidelines rather than jumbo guidelines, which is the part that matters: the paperwork and the underwriting are the conventional ones you already know, only the size of the loan changes.
All three exist and they use separate county limits. This page covers the conventional version. For the FHA-insured version see our FHA High Balance Home Loan, for the VA version see our VA High Balance Home Loan, and for loan amounts above the high balance limits see High-Balance Elite. Tell us the county and the loan type and we will tell you which ceiling applies.
Find out what you qualify for
Get pre-qualified and we will compare your loan amount, unit count and property type with the high-balance rules above.
Get Pre-Qualified- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, buying a house: tools and resources for homebuyers
- Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, mortgages
*Loan amounts, rates, terms, and down payment requirements are subject to credit approval, income and asset verification, and program eligibility. High-balance limits are set by county for designated high-cost areas. Down payment and cash-out limits vary by occupancy, credit score, and documentation type. Not all applicants will qualify. Saxton Mortgage, LLC is an Equal Housing Lender.