{
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  "source": "CRSReports.Congress.gov, EveryCRSReport.com",
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      "title": "The Loan Limits for Government-Backed Mortgages",
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      "source_dir": "crsreports.congress.gov",
      "title": "The Loan Limits for Government-Backed Mortgages",
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      "id": 460733,
      "date": "2017-04-27",
      "retrieved": "2018-05-10T13:35:42.738962",
      "title": "The Loan Limits for Government-Backed Mortgages",
      "summary": "The federal government supports homeownership in different ways. One of the main ways is through programs or quasi-government entities that promise lenders or investors that if a homeowner defaults on a covered mortgage, the lender or investor will still receive some\u2014or all\u2014of the amount it was owed. In some cases, the guarantees support homeownership by making private lenders more willing to offer certain types of mortgages. In other cases, the guarantees provided by these entities may increase the number of private investors who are willing to invest in mortgages, thereby increasing the amount of capital available for mortgage lending. The details of the programs differ, but most have maximum guarantee amounts that limit the size of mortgages that are eligible. This report contains brief program descriptions and discusses the maximum guarantee amounts for each.\nThe government or quasi-government entities that insure or guarantee mortgages and are discussed in this report are the following:\nFannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Lenders sell mortgages to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are congressionally chartered government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs). These mortgages are called conforming loans because they conform to Fannie Mae\u2019s and Freddie Mac\u2019s credit rules and are less than the conforming loan limit.\nThe Federal Housing Administration (FHA). The FHA insures mortgages that meet its standards, including a maximum mortgage amount. If a homeowner defaults, FHA pays the lender the remaining amount owed on the mortgage.\nThe Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The VA guarantees mortgages made to eligible veterans who meet its standards. If a covered veteran defaults, the VA will pay the lender. Unlike the first two programs, the VA coverage is not always 100% of the unpaid balance.\nThe U.S. Department of Agriculture\u2019s Rural Housing Service (RHS). RHS provides direct loans and loan guarantees for certain home mortgages in rural areas. RHS does not have a maximum mortgage size, but does have limits on income and the value of the home purchased.\nMortgage guarantee programs transfer risk to the government from the private sector, but may also expand credit availability and lower rates for borrowers. Loan limits for mortgages that are eligible for the programs attempt to achieve a balance by limiting the size of the mortgages that are guaranteed or insured, in part to limit the amount of risk that is transferred from the lender to the federal government and also to tailor the programs to the borrowers to whom the government would like to provide assistance. The size of the loan limits may affect which homes, and by extension which prospective homebuyers, can qualify for these types of mortgages. To the extent that these types of mortgages represent the most affordable or only available mortgage option for some prospective homebuyers, any increase or decrease in the loan limits can affect access to mortgage credit for a subset of potential homebuyers.",
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      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4776,
          "name": "Housing Finance"
        },
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4918,
          "name": "Homeownership & Housing Finance"
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  "topics": [
    "Domestic Social Policy",
    "Economic Policy"
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}