Conforming vs. Jumbo Loans in Florida: 2026 Limits Explained

A conforming loan is one that meets the requirements, including the loan amount, that allow it to be sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The loan amount piece of that is the conforming loan limit, which FHFA sets annually and adjusts based on national home price changes. For 2026, the baseline conforming limit for a one-unit home is $832,750 in most of the United States.

Some counties, generally in higher-cost housing markets, have a higher limit set by FHFA for that specific area. A jumbo loan is simply a loan amount that exceeds whatever limit applies to the county where the property sits. In a lower-cost county, a loan could be considered jumbo at a lower dollar amount than in a high-cost county.

Because loan limits are set at the county level, two homes of the same price in different Florida counties could fall into different categories.

For 2026, FHFA's baseline conforming loan limit for a one-unit property is $832,750 (two-unit: $1,066,250). In Florida, only Monroe County (the Florida Keys) has a higher limit, $990,150. Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, Orange, Hillsborough, and every other Florida county use the $832,750 baseline. A loan above the applicable limit is a jumbo loan.

Moving from a conforming loan to a jumbo loan can change several parts of the process, since jumbo loans aren't sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac and are instead held or sold under investor guidelines that vary by lender. In general terms, and without reference to specific rates, jumbo loans may involve stricter underwriting review, different down payment expectations, additional reserve requirements, and more extensive income and asset documentation compared with a conforming loan. Exactly what applies depends on the lender, the borrower's profile, and the property, and is subject to underwriting.

Buyers considering a home near the line between conforming and jumbo may want to discuss both scenarios with a loan officer early, since the category can affect the overall approval process and not just the paperwork.

• Underwriting: jumbo loans may involve more detailed review of income, assets, and credit history.
• Down payment: jumbo loans may call for a larger down payment than a comparable conforming loan, depending on the lender and borrower profile.
• Reserves: lenders may require a borrower to show additional reserve funds after closing on a jumbo loan.
• Documentation: jumbo loans often involve more extensive documentation requirements than conforming loans.

In parts of Florida with higher home prices, such as Coral Gables and Naples, it can be more common for a purchase to land above the applicable county limit and fall into jumbo territory. Key Biscayne is another South Florida market where home prices can push a purchase toward jumbo financing, even though it doesn't have its own separate loan limit; the county limit that applies there is what matters.

Buyers in these areas may want to run different purchase-price scenarios through a mortgage calculator and compare them against their county's conforming limit before deciding how to structure an offer. A loan officer can help map out what a conforming versus jumbo scenario might look like for a specific property and budget, subject to underwriting.

FHFA typically announces the following year's conforming loan limits in late fall. This post should be refreshed once the 2027 limits are published so the figures here stay current.