New Jersey Splits Twelve Counties to Nine
Program and regulatory figures verified September 25, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
New Jersey has the messiest limit map in this round: twelve counties on one number, nine on another, spread across five metropolitan areas.
The split
| Limit | Counties | Metro |
|---|---|---|
| $1,209,750 | Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex, Union | CBSA 35620, New York-Newark-Jersey City |
| $832,750 | Atlantic, Cape May | CBSA 12100, Atlantic City |
| $832,750 | Burlington, Camden, Gloucester, Salem | CBSA 37980, Philadelphia |
| $832,750 | Cumberland | CBSA 47220, Vineland |
| $832,750 | Mercer | CBSA 45940, Trenton |
| $832,750 | Warren | CBSA 10900, Allentown |
The Mercer County point
Mercer County contains Princeton and Trenton. Its conforming ceiling is $832,750, the national baseline, while Middlesex and Hunterdon next door are at $1,209,750. The gap is $377,000.
That is not a comment on prices in Princeton. It is a consequence of how limits are drawn: per metropolitan statistical area, and Mercer sits in the Trenton area rather than the New York one. Warren County has the same experience beside Sussex and Hunterdon, for the same reason.
The practical rule in New Jersey is stronger than elsewhere because the map is messier: look the county up rather than reasoning from the region.
What changes above the line
Agency financing publishes its rules for the home you are leaving. Fannie Mae B3-3.8-05, dated 09/02/2026, sets the offset, the documentation and the reserve requirement in writing. Above the conforming limit those become individual investor guidelines, with three recurring differences:
- Reserve requirements are deeper, and the departing residence adds its own.
- Some investors will not remove the departing payment until the sale actually funds.
- The planned exit on the departing home gets underwritten rather than assumed.
Above the line, carrying both payments with a later recast is often the more reliable structure. See the structures page.
And the seller-side fees scale with price
Jumbo territory and the Graduated Percent Fee overlap heavily. A departing New Jersey home selling above $1,000,000 carries the Graduated Percent Fee on top of the Realty Transfer Fee, both the seller's statutory responsibility, and both ahead of your payoff in the waterfall.
So on higher-value New Jersey move-ups the two things to model together are the conforming limit on the purchase and the fee load on the sale. See the seller-pays page and the net proceeds page.
Frequently asked questions
What is the conforming loan limit in Bergen County, New Jersey for 2026?
$1,209,750 on one unit. Bergen sits in CBSA 35620, the New York-Newark-Jersey City area, along with Essex, Hudson, Hunterdon, Middlesex, Monmouth, Morris, Ocean, Passaic, Somerset, Sussex and Union.
Is Princeton in a high-cost county for conforming limits?
No. Princeton is in Mercer County, which sits at the $832,750 baseline because it belongs to the Trenton metropolitan area rather than the New York one. Adjacent Middlesex and Hunterdon counties are at $1,209,750, a gap of $377,000.
Which New Jersey counties are at the baseline loan limit?
Nine: Atlantic and Cape May; Burlington, Camden, Gloucester and Salem; Cumberland; Mercer; and Warren. They span five different metropolitan areas, which is why no single regional rule of thumb works in New Jersey.
Does jumbo financing change how my departing New Jersey home is treated?
Generally yes. The departing-residence rules in Fannie Mae B3-3.8-05 are agency guidelines; jumbo investors set their own, tend to require deeper reserves, and some will not remove the departing payment until the sale funds.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal, tax, or real estate advice. New Jersey's Realty Transfer Fee and Graduated Percent Fee are administered by the New Jersey Division of Taxation and exemptions depend on your facts; your closing attorney, your CPA, and your real estate agent each handle their own part. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.