The deadline for ending temporarily higher loan limits at Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the FHA is October 1st, but they are effectively ended now.
A Wells Fargo spokesman confirms, “August 15th was the deadline for applications and rate locks for FHA and conventional conforming loans with balances above the limits we expect will be in place after September 30th.”
The loan limits were raised by Congress in 2008 temporarily from $417,000 to $729,000 in the highest priced markets in order to help bring much-needed liquidity to the mortgage market after the sub-prime meltdown that sent investors fleeing. There has been heavy lobbying by the Realtors, mortgage bankers and home builders to extend the limits, but so far to no avail.