What Is a Jumbo Loan or a Super Jumbo Loan?

A jumbo loan is a mortgage larger than the conforming loan limit, the most Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy. For 2026, that limit is $832,750 for a one-unit home in most of the country and up to $1,249,125 in high-cost counties, so a jumbo loan starts at the first dollar above your county's limit. "Super jumbo" is a lender label for larger loans; Rocket Pro, for example, uses it for loans from $2,000,001 to $5 million. Subject to federal ability-to-repay rules, each lender sets its own credit score, down payment, reserve, and debt limits, and they are usually stricter than for a conforming loan.

For the rules a conforming loan must meet, see what a Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac loan requires.

Where the 2026 conforming limits end

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets the limits each year from national home prices. The 2026 baseline limits, which apply in most counties:

In a county where 115 percent of the local median home value is above the baseline, the limit rises with it, up to a ceiling of 150 percent of the baseline. For a one-unit home, that ceiling is $1,249,125. Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands have a one-unit baseline of $1,249,125 and a ceiling of $1,873,675.

Your county's limit, not the national baseline, decides whether your loan is jumbo. FHFA publishes the full county list on its conforming loan limit page.

High-balance and super conforming loans

A loan above the $832,750 baseline but within a high-cost county's limit is still conforming. Fannie Mae calls these high-balance loans, and Freddie Mac calls them super conforming loans. They follow normal conforming rules with a few extra limits:

• Fannie Mae requires every high-balance loan to be a first mortgage approved through its automated system, Desktop Underwriter (DU), and to meet its maximum loan-to-value (LTV) ratios. LTV is the loan amount divided by the home's value.
• Freddie Mac allows up to 95 percent LTV (5 percent down) on a super conforming purchase of a one-unit home you will live in. For a 2- to 4-unit home you will live in, super conforming loans are capped at 85 percent LTV (2 units) and 80 percent (3 or 4 units). Second homes are capped at 90 percent and investment properties at 85 percent (1 unit) or 75 percent (2 to 4 units).

To learn how the two companies work and why their limits matter, see what Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are.

What lenders require for a jumbo loan

Because Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot buy a jumbo loan, their guidelines do not apply. The CFPB describes the general pattern: you usually need good credit and a high down payment. Here is what to expect and what is set by law.

Credit score

No agency minimum applies. In 2023 federal mortgage data (HMDA), the median credit score for jumbo home purchase borrowers was 776, compared with 762 for conforming conventional loans and 673 for FHA loans. Jumbo purchase applications were also denied more often: 10.5 percent, compared with 7.9 percent for conforming loans.

Down payment

On a conforming loan, Freddie Mac allows as little as 5 percent down on a one-unit home you will live in. With less than 20 percent down, a conforming loan usually also needs private mortgage insurance, which adds to the monthly payment. Jumbo lenders set their own maximum LTV. Ask each lender for its maximum LTV at your exact loan amount and property type.

Reserves

Reserves are cash or assets you still have after closing, counted in months of mortgage payments (principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and HOA dues). Jumbo lenders set their own reserve requirements. Ask each lender how many months it requires at your loan amount and which accounts (checking, savings, brokerage, retirement) it counts.

Debt-to-income ratio

Your debt-to-income ratio (DTI) is your monthly debt payments divided by your gross monthly income. For a conforming loan approved through DU, Fannie Mae allows a DTI up to 50 percent. A jumbo lender sets its own cap. Federal ability-to-repay rules let lenders qualify you using income, assets other than the home securing the loan, or both. The lender must verify the income or assets it relies on with reliable third-party records, consider your debts and credit history, and make a good-faith judgment that you can repay.

Appraisal

Banks and other federally regulated lenders must get a full appraisal by a state-licensed or state-certified appraiser for any home loan over $400,000 that is not eligible for sale to Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, or a government agency. That covers every jumbo loan they make. For loans of $1,000,000 or more, the appraiser must be state-certified.

Are jumbo rates higher?

Not always. In 2023 HMDA data, the median interest rate on jumbo home purchase loans was 6.250 percent, compared with 6.625 percent for conforming conventional loans. Your rate depends on your credit score, down payment, and loan amount, so compare quotes on the same day. See how mortgage interest rates are calculated.

How to tell which loan you need

1. Look up your county's 2026 limit for the number of units you are buying.
2. Subtract your planned down payment from the price. If the result is at or below your county's limit, the loan size fits a conforming loan, and the lender still has to approve you and the property under Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac rules. It is a high-balance loan only if it is also above the baseline for that unit count ($832,750 for one unit or $1,066,250 for two in most of the country; $1,249,125 for one unit in Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands).
3. If you are slightly over, compare a larger down payment with a jumbo loan.

Worked example

• You buy a one-unit home for $1,050,000 in a county with the $832,750 baseline limit.
• With 20 percent down ($210,000), the loan is $840,000, which is $7,250 over the limit, so it is a jumbo loan.
• With $217,250 down (about 20.7 percent), the loan is $832,750 and stays conforming.
• In a high-cost county with the $1,249,125 limit, the same $840,000 loan would be a conforming high-balance loan.