Jumbo and home loans in the Central Valley.

A loan above the county’s limit for the number of units in the home is a jumbo loan. It is the loan amount that counts, not the price of the home, so more money down can keep a loan at or under the limit. Jumbo loans are not sold to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so each lender sets its own rules on income, savings and the property.

Fresno, Kern, Kings, Madera, Merced, San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Tulare counties follow the national baseline of $832,750 for a one-unit home, so there is no high-balance range here: a loan is either conforming or jumbo.

The calculator shows where a loan amount falls, and the Loan limits page has every California county.

Homes in the Central Valley include houses in city neighborhoods, newly built homes, and farms and rural parcels. Some newer neighborhoods carry homeowners association dues or a special property tax known as Mello-Roos. Where a home has them, lenders add them to the monthly housing cost when they work out what you can borrow.

Standard home loans are written for houses people live in. On a property with acreage, a private well or a septic system, a lender looks at how the land is used, and a property that mainly earns farm or ranch income may need farm or commercial financing, which is a different kind of loan. Each lender draws that line in its own place. On a rural or unusual property an appraisal can also take longer, because there are fewer similar sales to compare it with.