2026 Loan Limits (San Antonio, Austin, Killeen)
For 2026, the Federal Housing Finance Agency increased the conforming loan limit for one-unit homes to $832,750 in most U.S. counties, including Bexar (San Antonio), Travis (Austin), and Bell (Killeen). Conventional loans up to this amount are eligible for purchase by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. FHA caps are calculated as a percentage of this baseline, and VA loans still operate with no hard limit for borrowers with full entitlement. This overview shows what changed, what has not, and how to budget if you are buying near the new caps.
2026 Conventional Loan Limits
The headline change is simple: the conforming cap rose to $832,750 for most one-unit homes, up from $806,500 in 2025.
- Applies to conventional loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy, not jumbo loans above the new limit.
- Higher caps help buyers stay inside conforming pricing instead of jumping into stricter jumbo underwriting.
- San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen are all “baseline” counties, so they share the $832,750 one-unit limit.
FHA & 2026 Floors
FHA does not set numbers randomly. Its floor and ceiling are calculated as percentages of the new conforming baseline and high-cost cap.
- The 2026 FHA floor for one-unit homes is about $541,288 in low-cost counties, 65% of the new conforming baseline.
- The FHA ceiling in high-cost areas matches the conforming high-cost cap of $1,249,125 for one-unit properties.
- HUD publishes the official county-by-county FHA limit spreadsheet in December; until then you work from the formula.
VA Entitlement Rules
VA loans behave differently. With full entitlement, what matters most is lender approval and your income, not the county loan cap.
- Full entitlement buyers effectively have no fixed VA loan limit, as long as they qualify and the appraisal supports price.
- Partial entitlement borrowers still reference county loan figures when calculating how much backing remains without a down payment.
- Practical takeaway: you still want to know your county’s number if you already have a VA loan or past default.
San Antonio, Austin & Killeen
All three markets share the same federal limits, but the way those numbers feel on the ground is very different.
- In many San Antonio and Killeen neighborhoods, typical starter and move-up homes still sit well below the 2026 conforming cap.
- Austin buyers are more likely to bump against FHA, conforming, or even jumbo territory in core and hot suburban ZIP codes.
- Limits are a ceiling, not a goal; your budget should come from payment comfort, not just what underwriting might allow.
Key Takeaways
- The 2026 conforming loan limit for one-unit homes in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen rises to $832,750, up from $806,500.
- FHA loan limits are tied to conforming baselines; the 2026 FHA floor is about $541,288, with a ceiling matching high-cost caps.
- VA loans still have no hard cap for buyers with full entitlement, but county limits matter when entitlement is partially used.
- Bigger limits mainly keep buyers inside conforming pricing; they do not automatically fix affordability or guarantee comfortable payments long term.
- San Antonio and Killeen buyers often stay under the caps, while more Austin purchases flirt with FHA and conforming ceilings.
- Serious 2026 buyers should verify county limits on FHFA, HUD, and VA tools, then shape budgets using realistic payment scenarios, not headlines.
2026 Loan Limits Increased for Central Texas Buyers
The 2026 conforming loan limit increase sounds like a dry policy update, but it directly changes how much you can borrow with conventional financing. For buyers in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen, the jump from $806,500 to $832,750 on one-unit homes expands the price band where you can still use standard conforming products instead of stricter jumbo loans. That shift affects approval odds, pricing, and how far your down payment stretches in each market.
- Conforming vs jumbo: The conforming cap defines where mainstream Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans stop and jumbo underwriting, pricing, and reserves typically begin.
- Local counties included: Bexar (San Antonio), Travis (Austin), and Bell (Killeen) all use the new $832,750 baseline limit for one-unit properties in 2026.
- Effective date: New limits apply to loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on or after January 1, 2026, though some lenders adopt early.
- What it changes: More buyers can target high-$700k and low-$800k price points without crossing into jumbo territory, depending on down payment and pricing.
2025 vs 2026 Conventional Loan Limits at a Glance
Understanding the size of the jump helps you see whether 2026 opens meaningful new doors or just adds a little extra headroom. The baseline conforming limit rose because national home prices, tracked by the FHFA House Price Index, kept climbing. The increase is not enormous in percentage terms, but it is enough to keep a segment of buyers in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen from falling into jumbo categories as prices drift upward.
| Year | Baseline one-unit limit | Change vs prior year | Approximate percentage increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $806,500 | – | – |
| 2026 | $832,750 | +$26,250 | About 3.3 percent |
- Formula driven: FHFA raises conforming limits based on year-over-year changes in its national house price index, not political negotiations or guesswork.
- Applies broadly: The baseline limit covers most U.S. counties; only designated high-cost areas and special statutory areas receive higher ceilings.
- Multi-unit differences: Two- to four-unit properties carry higher limits, but the same percentage change pattern from 2025 to 2026 applies.
- Local impact: In Central Texas, the baseline numbers are the ones that matter; none of these counties are treated as formal “high-cost” areas.
How FHA Loan Limits Track the 2026 Conforming Baseline
FHA limits for 2026 are not pulled from thin air. HUD takes the new conforming baseline and applies a fixed percentage to create the FHA floor in low-cost markets. For one-unit homes, that math works out to roughly 65 percent of $832,750, or about $541,288 as the minimum FHA cap. The FHA ceiling in high-cost areas equals the conforming high-cost limit of $1,249,125, with each county’s limit falling somewhere between those numbers.
- Floor and ceiling: FHA sets a national floor and ceiling for each property type; individual counties slot between those figures based on median prices.
- County-by-county tables: HUD then publishes official FHA limit spreadsheets and look-up tools each December, confirming specific caps for every county.
- Central Texas reality: Bexar, Travis, and Bell counties historically track closer to the floor than the ceiling because they are not designated high-cost areas.
- Practical takeaway: If you are planning FHA in 2026, treat the approximate floor as your working cap until HUD’s county data is officially posted.
VA Loan Limits, Full Entitlement, and 2026 Changes
VA loan rules sit on top of the same conforming limit infrastructure but behave differently in practice. If you have full entitlement, VA does not cap your loan amount in the same way conventional or FHA products do. Instead, the VA guaranty typically covers up to 25 percent of the loan amount, and your actual max price is constrained by lender approval, income, and appraisal. County loan limit figures still matter primarily for borrowers with partial entitlement.
- Full entitlement: With full entitlement, there is effectively no VA loan limit, as long as the lender approves and the appraisal supports the price.
- Partial entitlement: If entitlement is tied up in another property or past default, county loan limits determine how much no-down-payment backing remains.
- Reference numbers: For 2026, many calculators still cite $832,750 as the standard reference figure for one-unit homes in baseline counties.
- Action step: Anyone using VA after a prior loan or short sale should have a lender run detailed entitlement calculations before shopping the top of their range.
How 2026 Loan Limits Interact with Prices in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen
San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen all share the same federal caps, but price distributions make those limits feel very different on the ground. In many San Antonio and Killeen neighborhoods, typical starter and move-up homes remain comfortably below the new conforming ceiling, so FHA, VA, and standard conventional products cover most demand. In Austin, especially central and highly ranked suburban districts, more listings cluster near or above the conforming band.
| Market | Typical role of 2026 limit | Who is most affected | Strategic considerations |
|---|---|---|---|
| San Antonio | Mostly a safety buffer above common price ranges rather than a hard ceiling many buyers hit. | Upper-move-up and higher-end buyers in central and north side submarkets. | Use conventional up to the cap; jumbo only appears on select luxury and acreage properties. |
| Austin | Active ceiling for many neighborhoods, especially closer to job cores and top-rated schools. | First-time and move-up buyers targeting popular central or inner-suburban ZIP codes. | Need sharper trade-offs between location, size, and price to stay inside conforming and FHA caps. |
| Killeen | Cap sits well above many everyday prices, leaving room for larger homes or small multi-units. | Buyers using FHA or conventional to move beyond entry-level and into higher square footage. | Focus on condition and long-term rentability rather than worrying about brushing against the conforming ceiling. |
- San Antonio buyers: Often use higher limits to step into larger or newer homes while remaining inside conforming, especially on the north and northwest sides.
- Austin buyers: Should assume some desirable areas will test the top of FHA and conforming bands, forcing stronger down payments or alternative loan types.
- Killeen buyers: Get more breathing room; the limit is rarely the constraint compared with income, debt, and property condition.
- Pricing drift: If prices keep grinding upward, the same homes will creep closer to limits by mid-2026, even if caps technically cover them today.
Buying Near or Above the 2026 Limits
Shopping within ten percent of the new conforming ceiling demands more discipline than buying at lower price points. Small changes in rate, taxes, or insurance can push your debt-to-income ratio over the edge or create uncomfortable monthly obligations. Some buyers will still cross into jumbo territory by choice, especially in Austin, but that needs to be a conscious, numbers-driven decision, not something you stumble into because you chased a listing emotionally.
- Stress-test payments: Run scenarios at both current rates and plausible higher or lower rates so you understand your risk band near the cap.
- Compare loan types: Stack conventional, FHA, and, if eligible, VA side-by-side, including mortgage insurance, funding fees, and cash-to-close differences.
- Jumbo awareness: If your target price clearly exceeds conforming limits, plan ahead for jumbo underwriting, reserves, and potentially tighter credit overlays.
- Offer discipline: Decide a maximum monthly payment before you tour homes and avoid letting bidding wars casually push you above that line.
Budget Planning with Higher 2026 Limits
The real question is not, “What will a lender approve?” but, “What can I live with for the next five to ten years?” Higher 2026 loan limits give you permission to borrow more in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen, but that does not mean you should stretch to the top. A better approach is to start with a payment range you can tolerate, then work backwards into loan type, price band, and likely neighborhoods for each metro.
- Start from payment: Decide a realistic monthly housing budget that leaves room for savings, repairs, and normal lifestyle spending before chasing list prices.
- Use calculators: Combine local listings with tools like the Mortgage Calculator and Affordability Calculator to translate 2026 limits into actual payments.
- Factor taxes and insurance: Remember that Texas property taxes and insurance can move, so leave room above your projected payment for future increases.
- Plan for reserves: Especially near conforming caps or in jumbo territory, keep enough cash reserves to weather job changes, repairs, or rate shocks.
Key Documents and Tools to Check Before You Lock Anything In
Staying on top of 2026 loan limit changes is easier when you rely on the same public tools lenders and underwriters use. FHFA publishes the official conforming loan limit tables and map, HUD maintains FHA limit lookups by county, and VA explains entitlement and reference limits for borrowers with partial entitlement. Using those sites yourself, instead of relying only on marketing posts, keeps everyone honest when you are making six-figure decisions.
| Resource | Who runs it | What it shows | How to use it |
|---|---|---|---|
| FHFA conforming loan limit map | Federal Housing Finance Agency | Official conforming limits for every county, including Bexar, Travis, and Bell. | Confirm 2026 one-unit and multi-unit caps before planning price targets. |
| FHA mortgage limits look-up | HUD | County-by-county FHA floors, ceilings, and median price estimates. | Verify FHA caps once HUD releases official 2026 tables each December. |
| VA loan limits and entitlement page | U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | Explains full vs partial entitlement and how reference limits affect no-down-payment ranges. | Essential if you have an existing VA loan or past default on your record. |
- Bookmark official sites: Treat FHFA, HUD, and VA pages as your primary sources; social media graphics and lender ads should never override them.
- Double-check county: Make sure you are looking at Bexar, Travis, or Bell, not just a nearby county with different statistics or designations.
- Update annually: Limits are recalculated every year; do not rely on a chart you downloaded two or three seasons ago for current decisions.
- Confirm with pros: Have your lender and agent walk through the same resources with you so everyone is working from identical numbers.
The Bottom Line
The 2026 loan limit bump gives Central Texas buyers more conventional headroom, but it is not a magic affordability fix. San Antonio and Killeen buyers mostly gain extra breathing room above common price points, while many Austin shoppers will continue to flirt with FHA and conforming ceilings in hot ZIP codes. The smart move is to anchor your search in a payment you can sustain, verify official limits for your county, and then choose loan type and price targets that keep your long-term budget healthy instead of maxed out.
References Used
- FHFA news release announcing 2026 conforming loan limit values
- FHFA conforming loan limit tables and interactive county map
- Fannie Mae overview of 2026 baseline and high-cost loan ceilings
- HUD FHA Mortgage Limits look-up tool for county-level caps
- VA official explanation of VA loan limits and entitlement rules
- VA loan limit and entitlement explainer for full versus partial entitlement
- Breakdown of 2026 FHA floor and ceiling percentages based on conforming limits
- Freddie Mac summary of 2026 loan limit increases and HPI methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 2026 conventional loan limit in San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen?
For 2026, the baseline conforming loan limit for one-unit homes in Bexar, Travis, and Bell counties is $832,750. That figure applies to conventional loans that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can purchase. Loans above that threshold are generally considered jumbo and may require different underwriting standards, reserves, and pricing compared with conforming mortgages.
When do the 2026 loan limits actually take effect?
The new 2026 conforming loan limits apply to loans delivered to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on or after January 1, 2026. Many lenders begin honoring the higher limits earlier, once FHFA makes the announcement and internal systems are updated. If you are closing near year-end, ask your lender which limits they are using for approvals.
How are FHA loan limits calculated from the 2026 conforming baseline?
FHA loan limits are tied to the conforming baseline. For 2026, HUD sets the FHA floor for one-unit homes at roughly 65 percent of the $832,750 baseline, or about $541,288, while the FHA ceiling matches the conforming high-cost cap. Each county’s FHA limit then falls between these values based on local median prices.
Do VA loans have limits in 2026 for buyers with full entitlement?
For buyers with full VA entitlement, there is effectively no hard loan limit in 2026. The practical ceiling becomes whatever a lender will approve based on income, credit, and appraisal. County loan limit figures still matter mainly for borrowers with partial entitlement, where they influence how much zero-down backing remains available.
What happens if I want to borrow more than the 2026 conforming limit?
If your loan amount exceeds $832,750 and you are not using VA with full entitlement, you will generally be in jumbo territory. That usually means tighter credit standards, more required reserves, and potentially higher rates. Some buyers structure larger down payments or piggyback loans to stay within conforming limits instead.
Are the 2026 limits the same for two- to four-unit properties?
No. Two- to four-unit properties have higher conforming and FHA caps than one-unit homes, and those numbers also increased for 2026. However, the same baseline and percentage formulas apply. If you are buying a duplex, triplex, or fourplex in San Antonio, Austin, or Killeen, check the exact multi-unit limits for your county.
Can I use the 2026 limits for a late 2025 purchase?
Some lenders allow “early adoption” of new loan limits before the calendar year changes, but policies vary. It depends on when the loan is delivered to the agencies and how quickly each lender updates its guidelines. If you are under contract late in 2025, ask directly whether they will underwrite to 2026 caps.
Will higher 2026 loan limits push home prices up in Central Texas?
Higher limits can add fuel at the top of the market by giving more buyers room to chase expensive listings. But they are just one factor alongside inventory, rates, and local incomes. In San Antonio, Austin, and Killeen, the main drivers remain supply, demand, and overall economic conditions—not the limits alone.
How do income and debt-to-income ratios interact with the new limits?
Loan limits set a maximum loan size that agencies will buy, but they do not override debt-to-income rules. You still must qualify under each program’s DTI caps based on your income, debts, taxes, and insurance. Hitting the cap without enough income or reserves simply leads to a denial, not a special exception.
What is the best way to plan my 2026 purchase around these limits?
Start with a comfortable monthly payment, then back into price and loan type rather than aiming for the maximum allowed loan. Verify county-specific conforming and FHA caps on FHFA and HUD tools, and have your lender model conventional, FHA, and, if eligible, VA side-by-side. Choose the structure that fits your long-term budget, not just the highest approval.
