The temporarily increased conforming loan limits have been released. As you may recall this is part of the $168 billion Economic Stimulus Plan which was rushed through Congress last month. Here is an excerpt from the statement issued by the Office Of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO):
TEMPORARY CONFORMING LOAN LIMITS RELEASED FOR HIGH-COST AREAS
Washington, DC – The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight (OFHEO) today released the maximum conforming loan limits that will be in effect through year-end as a result of The Economic Stimulus Act of 2008. That legislation permits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to raise their conforming loan limits in certain high-cost areas. The new jumbo limits are a function of median home prices as estimated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Not surprisingly Arizona is not significantly affected by the new conforming loan limit. In fact only the Flagstaff area experiences any change. There the conforming mortgage loan limit is increased to $450,000 (from $417,000). The new loan limits are based on the median home price by county. The limit was increased for only those areas where the median prices are greater than the current conforming loan limit ($417,000).
The Western States most affected are CA, CO, OR, WA. You can view the OFHEO published list of areas affected here.