Temporary Conforming Loan Limit of $729,750

The temporary conforming loan limit of $729,750 is set to expire on Dec. 31, 2008. However, most lenders are using a Dec. 1, 2008 deadline to fund these loans. That means all loan transactions must be closed by that date to take advantage of the lower rates.

As of Jan. 1, 2009 the new conforming loan limit for high cost areas around the country will be $625,000. This means that any borrower with loans between $625,001 and $729,750 looking to benefit from low 30yr. fixed rates has very limited time to fund their new loan. Once these, changes take effect, borrowers with loan amounts higher than $625,000 will be forced to take much higher rates than the conforming rates which are now as much as 2% points lower than the Jumbo rates.