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71 71 71 INVESTMENT GOVERNMENT PROPERTY PRESERVATION Journal Follow Us At: @DSNewsDaily FHFA ANNOUNCES CONFORMING LOAN LIMITS FOR 2023 e Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has announced the conforming loan limit values (CLLs) for mortgages to be acquired by the government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs)—Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac—in 2023. In most of the United States, the 2023 CLL value for one-unit properties will be $726,200, an increase of $79,000 from $647,200 in 2022. e Housing and Economic Recovery Act (HERA) requires that the baseline CLL for the GSEs be adjusted annually to reflect the change in the average U.S. home price. e FHFA also published its Q3 2022 FHFA House Price Index (FHFA HPI) report, which includes statistics for the increase in the average U.S. home value over the last four quarters. U.S. house prices rose 12.4% from Q3 of 2021 to Q3 of 2022, according to the FHFA HPI. House prices were up just 0.1% compared to Q2 of 2022. FHFA's seasonally adjusted monthly index for September was up 0.1% from August. erefore, the baseline CLL in 2023 will increase by the same percentage. "House prices were flat for Q3, but con- tinued to remain above levels from a year ago," said William Doerner, Ph.D., Supervisory Economist in FHFA's Division of Research and Statistics. "e rate of U.S. house price growth has substantially decelerated. is deceleration is widespread with about one-third of all states and metropolitan statistical areas registering annual growth below 10%." e FHFA reports that in areas where 115% of the local median home value exceeds the baseline conforming loan limit, the applicable loan limit will be higher than the baseline loan limit. HERA establishes the high-cost area lim- it in those areas as a multiple of the area median home value while setting the ceiling at 150% of the baseline limit. Median home values gener- ally increased in high-cost areas in 2022, which increased their CLL. e new ceiling loan limit for one-unit properties will be $1,089,300, which is 150% of $726,200. Special statutory provisions establish differ- ent loan limits for Alaska, Hawaii, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, and in these areas, the baseline loan limit will be $1,089,300 for one- unit properties.