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As expected, FHA published its 2020 loan limits on December 3, 2019. Mortgagee Letter 2019-19 includes links to all the limits, with the high-cost limit the same as the GSE limit at $765,600. The FHA floor (the lowest FHA limit) also rose to $331,760. Nearly every county in the country saw an increase in their loan limits.

The way that loan limits are calculated, all counties within the same Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) benefit from the highest limit in that MSA. Over the last year, the government changed some definitions of MSAs. The result is that 11 counties, who were removed from their nearest MSA, will see decreases in their loan limits. View the list of 11 counties showing decreases in their loan limits.

Communities that wish to contest their loan limit only have 30 days to do so by contacting by providing the Santa Ana Homeownership Center with sufficient housing sales price data, listing one-family properties sold in an area within the look-back period, January through August of the previous year. Requests should differentiate between single-family residential properties, and condominiums or cooperative housing units. Ideally, the data provided should also distinguish between distressed and non-distressed sales. Requests for a change will only be considered for counties for which HUD does not already have home sales transaction data for the calculation of Mortgage limits.

Look up your 2020 loan limit (be sure to specify 2020). These limits are effective from January 1, 2020, to December 31, 2020.

On February 20, 2019, five federal regulatory agencies – the Federal Reserve, FDIC, OCC, Farm Credit and National Credit Union Administrations – published final regulations (Opens in new window) clarifying lender acceptance of private flood insurance. These rules will take effect on July 1.

The final regulations implement Section 239 of the Biggert-Waters Reform Act, which generally requires that lenders accept private flood insurance meeting a strict statutory definition. More specifically, the rules:

• Adopt the same definition of private flood insurance as the statute; this definition has been an ongoing source of confusion, particularly for smaller lenders.
• Provide compliance aid for lenders to determine whether a private policy meets the definition and thus must be accepted in satisfaction of federal flood insurance requirements.
• Clarify that lenders have broad discretion to accept private policies that don’t meet the strict definition if the policy provides sufficient protection of the loan consistent with safety and soundness principles.

NAR has been working as part of a coalition to make it easier for lenders to accept private flood insurance, which often offers better coverage at lower cost than the NFIP. Read our latest regulatory comment letter (Opens in new window).. These rules do provide lenders with important clarifications, compliance aid and regulatory certainty. They do not change FEMA or FHA guidelines that generally fail to recognize private flood insurance policies for purposes of federal assistance.

NAR will continue working with Congress and the Administration to clarify any remaining issues of continuous private flood insurance coverage and address these issues as part of NFIP reauthorization and reform legislation.

Coalition Comment Letter to Federal Agencies (Opens in new window).

Final Regulations Clarifying Lender Acceptance of Private Flood Insurance (Opens in new window).