New FHA Mortgage Limit Increases Benefit Both Urban and Rural Areas; Portland FHA mortgage limit up 5.9% to $474,950.

New FHA "forward" (purchase and refi) mortgage limits for CY 2019 are out and available HERE. (HECM mortgage limits are different than purchase and refi mortgage limits.

The table HERE and pasted below shows the new FHA AND RD mortgage limits for Oregon counties for CY 2019 vs the CY 2018 FHA mortgage limits. It also shows the median sales price for the county used to calculate the limits.

For CY 2019 the FHA mortgage limit is up to $474,950 in the Portland metro area, a 5.9% increase from this year, while Hood River's FHA mortgage limit tops the state and is up to $477,250, a 5.1% increase from this year. 

Deschutes county received the largest increase of 9.5% to $409,400.

Rural Areas Also Benefit from FHA Mortgage Limit Increases in Oregon
In several "pilot states' including Oregon, USDA RD loan program mortgage limits have been simplified and are set at 80% of FHA limits for the area. (Note that not all areas within a county are eligible for RD loans. Borrowers of course can continue to use FHA loans, with a higher loan limit, throughout the county). 

RD loan limits benefit when FHA floor limits increase. This year the FHA floor increased by 6.7% (higher than the 5.9% Portland metro increase) to $314,287 (from $294,515), so the RD loan limit in affected counties increased from $235,612 to $251,430. 

I'm not sure about effective date for RD loan limits, they may require an official RD publication; FHA forward limits are effective January 1, 2019. 

Originally created and posted on the Oregon Housing Blog.