Key findings
- 19.1% of 2025 home-purchase mortgages in Orange County were above the conforming loan limit, up from 18.4% in 2024. In Los Angeles County the share was 14.1%.
- Those jumbo loans were fewer than 1 in 5 loans but 39.5% of all purchase-loan dollars in Orange County.
- In seven Orange County ZIP areas, most purchase loans were jumbo, led by 92625 (Newport Beach) at 85.4%. Eleven ZIP areas had none.
- In our home market, Seal Beach (90740) came in at 32.1%, Los Alamitos (90720) at 29.9%, and Huntington Beach ranged from 9.8% (92647) to 35.1% (92648).
- Loan counts jump just under the conforming limit. In Orange County, 636 one-unit purchase loans sat in the $60,000 band ending at the 2025 limit, compared with 446 in the band below it and 265 in the band above it.
Why the conforming loan limit matters in Orange County
The conforming loan limit is the largest mortgage Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) sets it each year. Orange County and Los Angeles County are high-cost areas, so their one-unit limit sits at the national ceiling: $1,209,750 in 2025 and $1,249,125 in 2026 (FHFA). A loan above that amount is commonly called a jumbo loan. Jumbo loans are underwritten to each lender’s own guidelines, which can mean different down payment, reserve and documentation requirements.
In a county where the median jumbo loan in 2025 was $1,635,000, the limit decides which set of rules a buyer is shopping under.
How many Orange County buyers used jumbo loans?
We looked at every originated first-lien home-purchase loan on a 1 to 4 unit property reported under the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) for Orange County and Los Angeles County.
| Orange County 2024 | Orange County 2025 | Los Angeles County 2024 | Los Angeles County 2025 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Purchase loans analyzed | 14,580 | 13,957 | 37,472 | 35,655 |
| Jumbo (above conforming limit) | 2,685 | 2,670 | 5,100 | 5,044 |
| Jumbo share of loans | 18.4% | 19.1% | 13.6% | 14.1% |
| Jumbo share of loan dollars | 37.8% | 39.5% | 32.5% | 34.2% |
Source: HMDA 2024 and 2025 (CFPB/FFIEC), twteam.com analysis.
The jumbo share edged up in both counties even though the limit itself rose about 5% between 2024 and 2025.
Where jumbo loans are concentrated: Orange County by ZIP
Of the 75 Orange County ZIP areas with at least 50 purchase loans in 2025, seven were majority-jumbo, all along the coast or in Irvine:
| ZIP area | Place | 2025 purchase loans | Jumbo share | Median loan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 92625 | Newport Beach | 82 | 85.4% | $2,385,000 |
| 92657 | Newport Beach | 72 | 81.9% | $2,450,000 |
| 92603 | Irvine | 51 | 74.5% | $1,895,000 |
| 92651 | Laguna Beach | 162 | 71.6% | $1,790,000 |
| 92663 | Newport Beach | 91 | 68.1% | $2,105,000 |
| 92660 | Newport Beach | 159 | 66.0% | $1,805,000 |
| 92602 | Irvine | 91 | 62.6% | $1,395,000 |
At the other end, 27 of the 75 had a jumbo share under 5%, and 11 had no jumbo purchase loans at all, including ZIP areas in Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Buena Park.
Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Los Alamitos and Long Beach
| ZIP area | Place | 2025 purchase loans | Jumbo share | Median loan | Median property value |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90740 | Seal Beach | 78 | 32.1% | $1,070,000 | $1,545,000 |
| 90720 | Los Alamitos | 147 | 29.9% | $1,005,000 | $1,440,000 |
| 92648 | Huntington Beach | 251 | 35.1% | $1,065,000 | $1,495,000 |
| 92649 | Huntington Beach | 200 | 20.5% | $735,000 | $1,105,000 |
| 92646 | Huntington Beach | 328 | 19.2% | $805,000 | $1,245,000 |
| 92647 | Huntington Beach | 193 | 9.8% | $795,000 | $1,250,000 |
| 90803 | Long Beach | 180 | 20.0% | $855,000 | $1,345,000 |
| 90815 | Long Beach | 242 | 5.0% | $805,000 | $1,055,000 |
| 90808 | Long Beach | 228 | 4.8% | $805,000 | $1,075,000 |
| 90804 | Long Beach | 99 | 0.0% | $525,000 | $705,000 |
In Seal Beach and Los Alamitos, roughly 3 in 10 purchase loans were jumbo, and the median loan sat roughly $140,000 to $205,000 below the 2025 limit. That is the range where a buyer’s down payment decision can move a loan from one category to the other.
Download the full ZIP table for Orange County and Los Angeles County (CSV)
Who takes out a jumbo loan in Orange County?
| 2025, Orange County | Jumbo | Conforming conventional |
|---|---|---|
| Median loan amount | $1,635,000 | $715,000 |
| Median property value | $2,255,000 | n/a in this table |
| Median loan-to-value | 78.6% | 75.0% |
| Median reported income | $546,000 | $215,500 |
| Share for a principal residence | 91.2% |
- Most jumbo buyers put at least 20% down. 85.5% of 2025 OC jumbo purchase loans had a loan-to-value ratio of 80% or lower.
- They are mostly primary homes. 91.2% were for a principal residence, 5.9% second homes and 2.9% investment properties.
- Lenders often kept them. 54.9% of jumbo loans had not been sold by the end of the year they were made, compared with 32.2% of conforming conventional loans. That pattern is consistent with banks holding jumbo loans on their own balance sheets, which is one reason jumbo guidelines vary from lender to lender.
- FHA plays a small role in Orange County. FHA loans were 4.6% of OC purchase loans in 2025, compared with 13.7% in Los Angeles County.
The cluster just under the limit
When we counted one-unit purchase loans in $60,000 bands, the number of loans generally fell as loan size rose, except for one band. In Orange County:
| Loan amount band (2025) | Loans |
|---|---|
| $1,030,001 to $1,090,000 | 500 |
| $1,090,001 to $1,150,000 | 446 |
| $1,150,001 to $1,210,000 (ends at the $1,209,750 limit) | 636 |
| $1,210,001 to $1,270,000 | 265 |
| $1,270,001 to $1,330,000 | 245 |
Los Angeles County shows the same shape (709, then 909, then 427). The data cannot tell us why any single buyer chose a loan amount, but the pattern is consistent with many buyers adding to their down payment to keep the loan conforming.
What this means if you are buying in 2026 or 2027
- Know which side of the limit you are on before you write an offer. For 2026 the OC and LA one-unit limit is $1,249,125. FHFA typically announces the next year’s limit in late November.
- If you are within reach of the limit, compare both paths. A larger down payment can make a loan conforming, but it reduces the cash you keep after closing. Run both scenarios with a loan officer.
- Expect lender-specific rules on jumbo loans. Reserve, credit and documentation requirements vary because many jumbo loans stay with the lender that makes them.
Methodology
- Data: Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA) loan-level records for 2024 and 2025, retrieved 2026-10-25 from the CFPB/FFIEC HMDA Data Browser API for Orange County (FIPS 06059) and Los Angeles County (06037). FHFA conforming loan limit files for 2024 to 2026. U.S. Census Bureau 2020 ZCTA-to-tract and ZCTA-to-place relationship files.
- Loans included: originated, home purchase, first lien, 1 to 4 units; excludes business-purpose loans, reverse mortgages and open-end lines of credit.
- Jumbo definition: HMDA’s
conforming_loan_limitfield equals “NC” (nonconforming: above the conforming limit for that county and year). - ZIP areas: census tracts were assigned to the ZIP Code Tabulation Area (ZCTA) holding the largest share of the tract’s land area. ZCTAs approximate but are not identical to USPS ZIP codes; place names reflect the largest land overlap. ZIP areas with fewer than 50 loans are not shown.
- Values: HMDA reports loan amounts and property values as the midpoint of $10,000 ranges and income in thousands; medians reflect those reported values.
- Limits: HMDA does not cover every lender, and “not sold in the year” does not prove a lender kept the loan permanently. Interest rate data is excluded from this analysis.
- Reproducibility: the analysis script and output tables are available on request.
Sources: CFPB/FFIEC HMDA Data Browser (ffiec.cfpb.gov/data-browser); FHFA Conforming Loan Limit Values (fhfa.gov); U.S. Census Bureau 2020 relationship files.
Reviewed by Taylor Weiner, Sr. Mortgage Advisor, NMLS 263090. The Taylor Weiner Team originates loans through Lower, LLC, NMLS 1124061. Equal Housing Opportunity. This article is for general information, is not a commitment to lend, and is not tax or legal advice. Loan approval is subject to credit, underwriting and property guidelines.
Chart specs (for design; build from data/ files, do not retype numbers)
| # | Chart | Data | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Grouped bar: jumbo share of loans, OC vs LA, 2024 and 2025 | summary JSON jumbo_share_pct |
Single-hue pair per county; label values on bars; y-axis 0 to 25%. |
| 2 | Stacked 100% bar: jumbo share of loans vs share of dollars, OC 2025 | jumbo_share_pct, jumbo_dollar_share_pct |
Headline visual: “19% of loans, 40% of dollars”. |
| 3 | Choropleth map of OC ZCTAs by jumbo share | ZCTA CSV + Census 2020 ZCTA shapefile (cb_2020_us_zcta520_500k) | Sequential palette, 5 classes (0, <5, 5-20, 20-50, 50+%); grey for <50 loans; label 90740. Static PNG plus accessible table fallback. |
| 4 | Ranked horizontal bar: top 15 OC ZCTAs | ZCTA CSV | Show loan count in label so small-n areas are visible. |
| 5 | Histogram: one-unit loans in $60k bands, vertical line at $1,209,750 | bands JSON | Highlight the band ending at the limit; caption “pattern, not proof of motive”. |
| 6 | Small table card: home-market ZIPs | ZCTA CSV | Seal Beach, Los Alamitos, HB, Long Beach. |
Alt text for every chart states the key number. Check light and dark readability per the Playwright readability gate before publishing.
