Short answer: For 2026, the conforming loan limit on a one-unit home is about $1.25 million in both Alameda and Contra Costa counties, which share an MSA. Below that loan amount you are in conforming territory; above it you are financing a jumbo. That line runs straight through the middle of the East Bay's price map.
What the $1.25 million line actually is
The conforming loan limit is the largest loan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy. It is set annually, and in high-cost areas like ours it is well above the national baseline. For 2026, the one-unit limit for our area is about $1.25 million, and FHA and VA limits match it.
Three things people commonly get wrong about it.
- It is a limit on the loan, not on the price. A $2 million purchase with a $1.2 million loan is a conforming loan. A $1.4 million purchase with a $1.3 million loan is not.
- It is identical in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. They sit in the same metropolitan statistical area, so the limit does not change when you cross the county line from Berkeley into El Cerrito.
- Crossing it is not a wall. Jumbo lending is ordinary here. Terms, underwriting and reserve requirements vary by lender, which is why this conversation belongs with a lender rather than a blog post.
One honesty note: our dollar figure comes from a secondary source, so we write it as approximately $1.25 million rather than to the dollar. Have your lender confirm the exact 2026 figure for a one-unit property in your county.
Where that line falls on the East Bay map
This is why the limit matters here more than it would in most of the country. Median sale prices, per Redfin, for the three months ending June 2026:
Market | Median sale price | Relative to a ~$1.25M loan limit | Homes sold |
|---|---|---|---|
Piedmont | $3,198,260 | Far above | 46 |
Berkeley | $1,509,179 | Above | 228 |
Albany | $1,484,192 | Above | 33 |
Alameda | $1,184,855 | Just below | 158 |
El Cerrito | $1,179,358 | Just below | 52 |
Oakland | $898,511 | Below | 805 |
San Leandro | $888,017 | Below | 127 |
Contra Costa County | $842,623 | Below | 992 |
Richmond | $649,646 | Below | 207 |
Albany's median deserves a caveat: it rests on 33 sales, and Albany's median has run between roughly $1.48 million and $1.59 million across 2026 on very thin volume. Treat it as a band, not a point.
On a different methodology, which is why it does not belong in the table above, the California Association of Realtors put the Alameda County median at $1,275,000 in July 2026, up 2.0% year over year and down 3.8% for the month, with Contra Costa County at $875,000, up 1.4%. Alameda County's median sits essentially on top of the conforming limit. That makes this a median-buyer question here, not a luxury-buyer question.
The arithmetic that decides your down payment
If staying conforming matters to you, the math is subtraction. Whatever you pay above roughly $1.25 million has to come from cash, because the loan cannot exceed the limit.
Purchase price | Cash needed to keep the loan at ~$1.25M | That as a down payment |
|---|---|---|
$1,300,000 | $50,000 | 3.8% |
$1,400,000 | $150,000 | 10.7% |
$1,500,000 | $250,000 | 16.7% |
$1,600,000 | $350,000 | 21.9% |
$1,750,000 | $500,000 | 28.6% |
$2,000,000 | $750,000 | 37.5% |
Two qualifications. The table shows only the cash needed to hold the loan at the limit; your lender will have its own minimum down payment. And at or below about $1.25 million, a conventional down payment already keeps you conforming.
What it does show is where the pressure sits. Between roughly $1.3 million and $1.6 million, staying conforming asks for a down payment most buyers are already planning. Above $1.75 million it means putting down close to 30% or more, which for many households is not the plan. That is where the question stops being how much cash you have and becomes which loan product fits.
What it costs to borrow right now
The 30-year fixed mortgage averaged 6.65% for the week ending August 20, 2026, per Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey, with the 15-year at 5.95%. Those are conforming-market averages; jumbo pricing is quoted by each lender rather than set by any published survey, and we will not guess at a spread. Ask two or three lenders to quote both structures on your numbers on the same day.
We walk through what current rates do to East Bay buying power in our post on mortgage rates and buying power.
Why this matters when you write an offer
East Bay listings are commonly priced below where they sell. In the three months ending June 2026, Redfin recorded 91.3% of Piedmont homes, 83.1% of Berkeley homes and 68.5% of Oakland homes selling above list. We explain the convention behind that in our post on why East Bay homes sell over asking.
The consequence for financing: list price is a poor guide to what you will need to borrow. A home listed at $1,150,000 that sells at $1,380,000 moves a buyer with 20% down from a conforming loan to a jumbo, mid-transaction. Settle with your lender what happens at the top of your range before you write offers, and get pre-approved for the structure you will actually need.
For where the broader market stands, see our East Bay market update.
Frequently asked questions
What is the conforming loan limit in Alameda County for 2026?
About $1.25 million for a one-unit property. Alameda County is a high-cost area, so its limit sits well above the national baseline, and FHA and VA limits match it. The figure we work from comes from a secondary source, so confirm the exact 2026 number with your lender before planning around it. The limit applies to the loan amount, not the purchase price.
Is the conforming loan limit different in Contra Costa County?
No. Alameda and Contra Costa counties sit in the same metropolitan statistical area, so they share the same one-unit conforming loan limit of about $1.25 million for 2026. Moving a search from Berkeley to El Cerrito, or from Oakland to Richmond, does not change your financing math. Your lender should confirm the exact figure before you rely on it.
What happens if I need to borrow more than the conforming limit?
You move into jumbo financing, which is routine in this market rather than exotic. Jumbo loans are not bought by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, so each lender sets its own underwriting standards, reserve requirements and pricing. That means terms vary meaningfully between lenders. Get quotes on both structures from more than one lender on the same day, using your real numbers. Because each lender sets its own jumbo guidelines, whose desk the file lands on changes the answer; our mortgage banking team underwrites in house rather than sending the file out.
Do FHA and VA loans use the same limit in the East Bay?
For 2026, FHA and VA limits match the conforming limit of about $1.25 million for a one-unit home in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. Those programs have their own eligibility rules, down payment requirements and mortgage insurance treatment, which are separate questions from the loan limit itself. Confirm both the limit and the program rules with a lender who writes that product regularly.
How much do I need to put down to stay under the conforming limit?
Whatever the price exceeds roughly $1.25 million. At $1.4 million that is $150,000, or 10.7% down. At $1.6 million it is $350,000, or 21.9%. At $2 million it is $750,000, or 37.5%. Your lender will also have its own minimum down payment, which can be higher than these figures. Below about $1.25 million, a conventional down payment already keeps the loan conforming.
Sources
- 2026 conforming loan limit, one-unit, Alameda and Contra Costa counties; FHA and VA matching. Secondary source — confirm the exact figure with your lender — fhfa.gov
- Redfin housing market data, three months ending June 2026 — redfin.com
- California Association of Realtors, county median prices, July 2026 — car.org
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey, week ending August 20, 2026 — freddiemac.com
Mark Lederer leads The Lederer Team at Red Oak Realty, with 25+ years and more than 1,000 closed transactions across the East Bay. We coordinate lenders, but we take no referral fees from any of them, so the recommendation you get is the one we actually believe. To map your financing against a real target price, start at theledererteam.com/contact, call 510-774-4231 or email [email protected].
