At a glance: the 2021 FHA loan limit for Austin, Texas is $416,300, for a single-family home purchase. This cap applies to all five counties within the metropolitan area. This is the maximum mortgage amount for loans insured through the Federal Housing Administration.
Below, you will find the 2021 FHA loan limits for the Austin metro area. These loan limits apply to all counties that fall within the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metropolitan area, including Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson County.
In 2021, the FHA loan limit for a single-family property in the Austin area is $416,300. That is the maximum amount for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-insured mortgage loan within the five counties mentioned above.
Again, that is for a single-family residence. There are higher limits for multifamily properties including duplex and triplex units. See below.
2021 Austin FHA Loan Limit: $416,300
At the end of 2020, officials from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced they would be increasing the FHA loan limits for most counties across the United States. This change was made in response to significant home-price gains that occurred during 2020.
In the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area, the single-family FHA loan limit for 2021 went up to $416,300. That’s a slight increase over last year’s maximum mortgage amount of $404,800.
The Federal Housing Administration sets higher limits for multi-unit properties such as duplexes. Here are the 2021 maximum FHA mortgage amounts for Austin, Texas, across all four of the insurable property types:
- One-family property: $416,300
- Two-family property: $532,950
- Three-family property: $644,200
- Four-family property: $800,600
These limits apply to all counties within the Austin metro area, including:
- Bastrop County
- Caldwell County
- Hays County
- Travis County
- Williamson County
These caps will remain in effect throughout the 2021 calendar year.
A Response to Steady Home-Price Appreciation
The FHA loan limits for Austin — and most other cities across the country — were increased from 2020 to 2021 due to steady home-price appreciation.
Home values nationwide rose over the past year, to such an extent that federal housing officials deemed it necessary to increase the conforming and FHA loan limits for 2021.
The Austin metro area, in particular, has seen significant home-price growth over the past couple of years. Not even the coronavirus pandemic could cool this red-hot housing market.
According to the real estate data company Zillow, the median home value for the Austin-Round Rock-Georgetown metro area rose by nearly 13% over the last year or so. This was reported in January 2021. Looking forward, the company’s analysts expect that home prices in the area will rise by around 8% over the next year.
- As of January 2021, the median home value in the Austin metro area was around $378,454.
- The median price within the city of Austin itself was around $446,500, during that same month.
This is partly why housing officials increase the 2021 FHA loan limits for Austin and all surrounding cities. These changes were made to keep up with ongoing home-price appreciation.
FHA Mortgage Program FAQs
The FHA loan program is a popular mortgage financing option among home buyers, especially those with shaky credit and/or limited funds for a down payment.
This program is relatively flexible, compared to a conventional or “regular” type of mortgage loan. Additionally, it offers a down payment as low as 3.5% of the purchase price, which appeals to cash-strapped borrowers.
Below, you will find answers to some of the most frequently asked questions regarding the 2021 FHA loan limits for the Austin area.
Why did these limits go up from 2020 to 2021?
As mentioned above, federal housing officials increased the conforming and FHA loan limits for almost every county in the country, going into 2021. They did this in direct response to the significant home-price gains we saw during 2020.
These limits are reviewed annually and, in some cases, increased from one year to the next to keep up with rising housing costs.
Will they go up again in 2022?
We won’t know until the end of the current calendar year. If home prices nationwide continue to rise at a steady pace (as they did during 2020), there’s a good chance the FHA loan limits for Austin will go up again in 2022. We’ll keep you posted on that front!
What’s needed to qualify for an FHA loan in Austin?
At a minimum, home buyers who wish to use an FHA loan to buy a house must have a down payment of at least 3.5%, a decent credit score, and a manageable level of debt (see below).
The official minimum credit score for this program is 500, according to the Federal Housing Administration and HUD. But most mortgage lenders set the bar somewhere around 600. Lenders can determine their own criteria, on top of the minimums set by the FHA.
What’s the most I can borrow with this program?
The maximum FHA mortgage loan amount forAustin metro area counties is $416,300. That’s for a single-family property. But not everyone who uses this program will qualify for that amount.
Mortgage lenders will review your income and debt situation to determine how much you can borrow. Generally speaking, they limit the “debt-to-income ratio” to somewhere around 45% to 50%, for FHA mortgages.
This means that if your recurring monthly debts use up more than 50% of your monthly income, you could have trouble qualifying for an FHA loan. This is primarily how lenders determine how much you can borrow. But those are general rules. Exceptions can be made for otherwise well-qualified borrowers.