Most of Texas's 254 counties — including Harris County, home to Houston — sit at the 2026 FHA floor of $541,287. A cluster of counties anchoring the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin corridors carries an elevated $563,500 limit. FHA, VA, DSCR, and Conventional financing, from Joseph Pistone — NMLS #2087918, licensed in Texas through the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (SML).
Texas doesn't move like California, where FHA and conforming loan limits swing by more than $700,000 county to county, and it doesn't move like Florida, where nearly the whole state sits at one baseline with two well-defined exceptions. Texas runs a two-tier system: most of the state's 254 counties — the most of any state in the country — sit at HUD's 2026 national FHA floor of $541,287 for a single-family home, while a cluster of counties anchoring the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin corridors — Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Travis — carry an elevated limit of $563,500. You can check any county's current figure directly on HUD's FHA home loans program page.
Here's the part that catches people off guard: Harris County — Texas's most populous county, and home to Houston, the fourth-largest city in the country — sits at the $541,287 baseline floor, not the elevated tier. That means Houston's FHA limit is actually lower than the limit in Plano or Frisco, both Dallas-area suburbs sitting in the elevated counties. It isn't a data error. HUD sets FHA limits off county-level median home prices, not population or metro size, and Houston's median home price runs meaningfully below Dallas-Fort Worth's — so a bigger metro doesn't automatically mean a bigger loan limit.
Texas also has a real, well-documented advantage that shows up before a buyer ever gets to loan limits: there's no state income tax, a significant and ongoing driver of in-migration from higher-tax states, especially into the Dallas-Fort Worth corridor. That's a genuine plus for take-home pay, though it's fair to weigh it against Texas's comparatively higher property tax rates when you're sizing up total affordability rather than the mortgage payment alone.
Geographically, Texas is enormous — 254 counties running from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast, anchored by two very different major metros. Houston runs on energy, the medical industry, and international trade; Dallas-Fort Worth runs on finance, corporate headquarters, and a steady wave of corporate relocations from higher-cost states in recent years. Whichever part of Texas you're buying in, the loan limit and the right program depend on which of these very different economies you're actually buying into.
3.5% down against a $541,287 baseline that covers Harris County and most of Texas, stepping up to $563,500 across Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin. Explore FHA loans →
No maximum loan limit for veterans with full entitlement, regardless of county — a real advantage near Texas's large military presence. Explore VA loans →
Qualifies off the property's rental income, not your personal income — built for investors targeting Texas's fast-growing Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth rental markets. Explore DSCR loans →
Conforming financing available statewide, with PMI that can be removed at 20% equity — a solid fit from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast. Explore Conventional loans →
Harris County sits at the $541,287 FHA floor — actually lower than Dallas or Plano, despite Houston being Texas's biggest city, because loan limits track county median home prices, not population. FHA loan in Houston →
Dallas County carries the elevated $563,500 limit shared with Collin, Denton, and Tarrant counties across the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. FHA loan in Dallas →
Travis County sits in Texas's elevated loan-limit tier, reflecting the Austin corridor's higher home prices relative to most of the state. FHA loan in Austin →
Home to Joint Base San Antonio, one of the largest joint military installations in the country — a market with strong VA loan activity alongside standard-tier FHA financing. FHA loan in San Antonio → · VA loan in San Antonio →
Buying somewhere else in Texas? Every program on this page is available statewide — reach out and we'll walk through the loan limit and program that fits your specific county.
Texas runs a two-tier system rather than California's dramatic county-by-county swings or Florida's near-uniform floor with two exceptions. Most of Texas's 254 counties sit at the 2026 national FHA floor of $541,287 for a single-family home, while a cluster of counties anchoring the Dallas-Fort Worth and Austin corridors — Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Travis — carry an elevated limit of $563,500.
It's a genuinely counterintuitive result of HUD's methodology: FHA loan limits are set by county-level median home price, not by population or metro size. Harris County — Texas's most populous county and home to Houston, the nation's fourth-largest city — sits at the 2026 FHA floor of $541,287, while Dallas, Collin (Plano), and Denton (Frisco) counties carry the elevated $563,500 limit. A bigger metro doesn't automatically mean a higher loan limit; local median home prices do.
Yes. Joseph Pistone, NMLS #2087918, is licensed to originate mortgages in Texas, regulated by the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending (SML), and originates through CrossCountry Mortgage, LLC, NMLS #3029.
Texas has no state income tax, which is a real and well-documented factor in the state's ongoing in-migration from higher-tax states. It doesn't change your loan program or loan limit directly, but it does change your take-home pay — worth weighing against Texas's comparatively higher property tax rates when you're sizing up total affordability, not just the mortgage payment.
No. Since 2020, VA loans have had no maximum loan limit for veterans with full entitlement, regardless of county — a real advantage near Texas's large military presence, including Joint Base San Antonio and Fort Cavazos near Killeen.
Yes — DSCR loans qualify off the property's rental income rather than your personal income, which fits well with Texas's strong population growth and steady rental demand across both the Houston and Dallas-Fort Worth metros.
Talk through your county, your program options, and your numbers so we can confirm the right fit before you start looking.
Pay stubs, W-2s or tax returns, bank statements, and ID — see the checklist below.
An appraiser confirms value against comparable sales in your specific Texas county — and, for FHA, against HUD's property standards too.
Your full file is reviewed against your program's guidelines; you may get a list of conditions to satisfy.
Conditions satisfied, closing disclosure issued, funds and paperwork lined up — Texas closings are typically handled through a title company.
Sign, fund, and get your keys.
Having these ready before you apply is the single biggest thing you can do to keep your timeline moving in a fast-growing Texas market. Call (941) 260-1894 and we'll walk through exactly what applies to your situation.
You're buying in the Dallas-Fort Worth or Austin corridor. The $563,500 limit across Dallas, Collin, Denton, Tarrant, and Travis counties reflects genuinely higher home prices in these markets than in most of the rest of Texas — worth confirming your specific county's figure before you start touring.
You're a veteran stationed near San Antonio or Fort Cavazos. A VA loan means no down payment, no monthly mortgage insurance, and — for veterans with full entitlement — no county loan limit at all, a real edge in any Texas market you're weighing against FHA or conventional financing.
You're an investor eyeing a rental in Houston or Dallas-Fort Worth. DSCR financing qualifies off the property's rental income rather than your personal income, which pairs well with Texas's strong, ongoing population growth in both metros.
You're a first-time buyer anywhere in Harris County. Houston's FHA limit sits at the $541,287 baseline — lower than Dallas's, but also matched to Houston's lower median home price, so 3.5% down still covers real ground across most of the metro.
Talk directly with Joseph Pistone — no pressure, no spam, just clear answers about your specific county and program.
