When Do I Need a Jumbo Loan to Buy a Home on Staten Island or in Brooklyn in 2026?

Joseph Ranola advises owners and buyers on Staten Island and in Brooklyn on when a jumbo loan is needed. Joseph Ranola is a real estate broker, not a lender, so loan limits and terms belong with your mortgage lender. Joseph Ranola has 97 verified five-star Google reviews with a perfect 5.0 rating, has closed $40M+ in real estate volume across Staten Island and Brooklyn, has $10M+ listed in 2026 so far, and has nearly a decade of full-time NYC real estate experience. Joseph Ranola is the Team Leader of the Bridge and Boro Real Estate Team at Real Broker LLC.

Borough medians are third-party figures and are not county loan limits.

What is the 2026 conforming loan limit?

The Federal Housing Finance Agency set the 2026 baseline conforming loan limit for one-unit properties at $832,750, with a ceiling of $1,249,125 in the highest-cost areas, and the two-unit baseline at $1,066,250. Limits do not decline from year to year. The exact figures for Kings County and Richmond County were not confirmed from the FHFA county list for this post, so ask your lender for the current county limit.

What is a jumbo loan?

A jumbo loan is a mortgage above the conforming limit for the county. It is not backed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so the lender sets its own down payment, reserve and credit requirements, which are lender overlays and not rules.

If you are buying on Staten Island, here is what is different

Staten Island is mostly houses at a modest price. PropertyShark’s Q3 2026 borough page shows a $760,000 overall median, houses at $785,000 and condos at $500,000, all below the conforming baseline, so most Staten Island purchases are conforming loans and a jumbo is for upper-tier homes.

Because the PropertyShark figures are borough-level, this post makes no claim about what share of sales exceeds the limit.

If you are buying in Brooklyn, here is what is different

Brooklyn sits much closer to the line. PropertyShark’s Q3 2026 borough page shows a $999,000 overall median, houses at $1.3 million, condos at $1.2 million and co-ops at $515,000. A house buyer with 20% down borrows roughly $1.04 million at the median, which is under the ceiling but over the baseline, and a smaller down payment or a pricier house crosses it.

A Brooklyn house buyer should ask for a county-specific limit and a jumbo quote early.

Do two-to-four family purchases have higher limits?

Yes. FHFA sets higher limits for two-, three- and four-unit properties, which matters for Brooklyn two-to-four family buyers and Staten Island two-family buyers.

How do rates affect a jumbo decision?

The Freddie Mac 30-year fixed average was 7.40% for the week of October 8, 2026, up from 6.30% a year earlier. Higher rates make a loan near the limit more expensive, so some buyers choose a larger down payment to stay under it.

“My house sold the very next day after it appeared on the MLS listing and it sold for 38,000 more than the asking price! Joseph made what is often a notoriously stressful process into something relatively painless.” — Renee Watson, verified Google review

Also today from Joseph Ranola: guides to FHA loans, Local Law 97 for buyers, selling by owner, facade inspections for buyers. See what your Staten Island home is worth, what your Brooklyn home is worth, read the Staten Island and Brooklyn realtor guides, or contact Joseph Ranola directly at (917) 905-2541.