Florida Loan Limits / Palm Beach County
Palm Beach County, FL · 2026 Loan Limits
Palm Beach loan limits for 2026.
FHA, conforming, jumbo, and how the Palm Beach mix of West Palm metro and ultra-luxury island markets shapes the financing options.
Current Median Sale
$515,000
Redfin · 2026-03 · -1.0% YoY
Conforming 1u
$832,750
Standard conforming
FHA 1u
$667,000
Mid-tier
Days on Market
86
5.3 mo supply
Gap analysis
How Palm Beach's median compares to the agency caps.
Palm Beach County's reference median is around $515,000, which still fits comfortably below the high-cost FHA Forward 1-unit limit of $667,000 and the conforming 1-unit limit of $832,750. Most median-priced transactions here clear FHA, VA, and conforming without issue.
Where Palm Beach diverges from Broward and Miami-Dade is at the top end. The eastern coastal strip (Palm Beach Island, Manalapan, Jupiter, Palm Beach Gardens, Highland Beach) regularly transacts at prices that put purchases far into jumbo territory ($2M, $5M, $20M+ are not unusual). And the western equestrian markets (Wellington, Loxahatchee Groves) have their own jumbo flavor: large parcels, agricultural exemptions, ag overlay rules.
For buyers in the $700,000 to $1M range here, we run the FHA-vs-conforming math the same way as in Miami-Dade. The FHA cap of $667,000 vs conforming $832,750 creates a $165,000 window where the choice between FHA and conventional really depends on credit and liquid-asset profile.
Conforming (Fannie / Freddie)
Standard conforming| 1-unit | $832,750 |
| 2-unit | $1,066,250 |
| 3-unit | $1,288,800 |
| 4-unit | $1,601,750 |
FHA Forward (203b)
Mid-tier| 1-unit | $667,000 |
| 2-unit | $853,900 |
| 3-unit | $1,032,150 |
| 4-unit | $1,282,700 |
VA: full-entitlement borrowers have no per-county limit. Partial entitlement uses the conforming 1-unit cap of $832,750. USDA Rural Development: eligibility is mapped per address, not per county. The FHA national floor for 2026 is $541,287 and the ceiling is $1,249,125.
Neighborhoods we close in
FAQ
Palm Beach financing questions.
Why is Palm Beach in the same FHA tier as Miami-Dade and Broward?
HUD treats the entire Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach metro as one high-cost area for FHA Forward limits, so all three counties share the $667,000 1-unit cap for 2026. Conforming is set per county and Palm Beach is at the standard $832,750 baseline.
How big does a Palm Beach jumbo loan typically get?
Bigger than people expect. We routinely close jumbos in the $1.5M to $5M range here. Above $3M, reserves and asset documentation get real (12 to 24 months PITI in liquid plus full asset trace), and pricing varies by lender. A scenario at $5M+ usually means private-bank or portfolio jumbo with a relationship pricing component.
Are condo loans easier here than in Miami-Dade or Broward?
Generally yes for newer buildings (post-2018), but the same Surfside-era warrantability rules apply. The Palm Beach Island and Singer Island older oceanfront buildings often have the same project-review issues you see in Miami Beach. Pre-clearing the project before quoting saves time.
What programs do you see most often for first-time buyers here?
FHA at 3.5% down combined with FHFC Florida Assist or Hometown Heroes is the most common entry path. For buyers in the $400k to $600k range with median income, conventional 97 (HomeReady or Home Possible) is competitive too because of the lower mortgage-insurance cost vs FHA monthly MIP.
Is there meaningful USDA territory in Palm Beach?
Very limited. Most of Palm Beach County is metropolitan and not USDA-eligible. Some western pockets near Belle Glade, Pahokee, and parts of Loxahatchee may qualify. Confirm any specific address against the official USDA eligibility map.
How does VA buying work in Palm Beach?
The same way it works everywhere else: full-entitlement VA borrowers have no per-county loan limit and can buy at any price the lender approves with zero down. The 0% down advantage matters more in higher-priced markets like Palm Beach because the borrower keeps liquid assets in their pocket instead of putting them on the closing disclosure.
County demographics (Census ACS 2023)
Population
1,507,453
Median Household Income
$81,115
Median Home Value
$407,300
Owner-Occupancy Rate
70%
Buying or refinancing in Palm Beach?
Send the scenario. We'll run the right limit, the right program, and the right structure: FHA, conforming, jumbo, VA, or first-time buyer DPA. Quote in plain English, no app pull.
County commentary
What South Florida actually feels like right now.
Palm Beach has the highest owner-occupancy rate of the three SoFL counties: about 70 percent of occupied housing is owner-occupied. That's the suburban Florida pattern. End-user driven, more single-family than condo, more 30-year fixed than ARM and interest-only. Median household income is the highest of the three at roughly $81,000, which combined with tax migration from the Northeast and Midwest has kept demand strong even as inventory has built up.
Days on market is running around 86, lower than Broward and Miami-Dade. Inventory is around 5.3 months of supply, which is closer to balanced than buyer-favorable. The market here has held up better than the rest of South Florida partly because the Palm Beach island and Jupiter waterfront luxury tier is largely cash-driven and operates on different cycles than the FHA-and-conforming end-user market.
For investment buyers: short-term rental income works well in Jupiter, Boynton, and Delray. Most municipalities allow STR with registration. DSCR underwriting against actual or projected rental income is straightforward. 2-4 unit owner-occupied house-hacking on FHA is less common than in Broward simply because there's less duplex inventory; suburban single-family dominates.