Are you interested in financing a luxury home purchase and need a mortgage larger than a conventional or FHA mortgage loan?  Jumbo mortgage loans are financial products that enable a purchaser to get financing for a home that typically costs over $500,000.  A Super Jumbo Mortgage is a residential mortgage or other home-equity secured loan in an amount greater than $650,000.  Some lenders may differ on what constitutes a jumbo or super jumbo mortgage based upon their individual parameters.  Typical Jumbo mortgage loans are between 417,000 and 650,000.  The Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac conforming loan limits are currently at $417,000 for most areas and can be higher in parts of California, Hawaii, Alaska and other high cost counties as defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Some borrowers may opt to use a conforming mortgage loan and obtain a home equity loan from a lender to as a means to avoid paying a higher interest rate for a jumbo mortgage versus a conventional mortgage product.

Super Jumbo Mortgages are not defined by any government agency and lenders typically classify super jumbo loans that are greater than $1,000,000.  Maximum loan amounts are typically in the 10,000,000 to 20,000,000 range.

Super Jumbo mortgage lending is a niche activity, not engaged in directly by most consumer focused banks. The preponderance of Super Jumbo lending is arranged by mortgage companies who specialize in financing these multi million dollar transactions with the help of investment banks and private mortgage capital sources.

The unconventional requirements of super jumbo mortgage applicant have fueled some of the popular mortgage products such as interest only mortgages and option ARMs.  Recent events in the credit markets that have constrained liquidity, securitization and demand in the capital markets have severly impacted the jumbo and super jumbo mortgage markets.  Many banks and investors have been unable to sell these loans to other investors and have to commit capital to retain those mortgages. The net effect has been an overall reduction in the Loan To Value permissible in a traditional super jumbo mortgage and an increase in the level of income documentation required for such large mortgages