Arizona Jumbo Mortgage Loans

Do you need a jumbo mortgage in Arizona?  Whether you need a jumbo mortgage loan for a refinance or a purchase, we trust that you will find this page valuable.  If you would like a custom jumbo mortgage quote, you can do one of three things: 

1.) Email National Wholesale Mortgage branch manager Karen George;

2.) Call us at (877) 551-8188 and press "1" to bypass the voicemail and get an Arizona mortgage loan officer on the phone; or

3.) Fill out the form at the bottom of this page.

So what is a jumbo mortgage anyway?

Currently, a jumbo mortgage is a mortgage loan that exceeds $417,000.  A loan that exceeds $417,000 is considered a "non-conforming" loan and will be underwritten as a jumbo.

All lenders have caps on jumbo mortgages, but you will find they vary from lender to lender.  If you call three different banks, you will often hear three different "maximum loan amounts" regarding their jumbo loans.  Sometimes the maximum loan amount is as low as a million dollars, but it seems that the average maximum loan amount is $2,000,000.

Of course, because home values change over the years, the jumbo loan limits have changed in kind.  Every few years, the jumbo mortgage loan limits are raised.  Also, it should be noted that- due to higher home values in general- Alaska and Hawaii have higher jumbo loan minimums, or for that matter, conforming loan maximums.

Definition of jumbo mortgage loan, paraphrased from Wikipedia:

A jumbo mortgage is a mortgage with a loan amount above the industry standard definition of the conventional, conforming mortgage loan maximum.  This maximum is set by the two largest secondary market lenders, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. 

Loans above the conforming limits may be offered by servicers of these wholesale insitutions as well as Wall Street conduits who provide warehouse financing for mortgage lenders.  The loan amounts reflect average loan sizes nationwide.  Jumbo mortgages apply when agency limits don't cover the full loan amount.  Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac (FHLMC) are the agencies that purchase the bulk of residential mortgages in the U.S.  They set a limit on the maximum dollar value of any mortgage they will purchase from an individual lender. As of 2007, that limit is $417,000, or $625,500 for Alaska and Hawaii.

This leaves a portion of the market to look elsewhere for placement. Other large investors step in to fill the need with maximum mortgage amounts in the range of $1,000,000 - $2,000,000.  The average interest rates are typically greater than normal for conforming mortgages, and vary depending on property types and mortgage amount.

What are interest rates like on jumbo mortgages?

Because they are a "portfolio product," jumbo mortgage loan rates are always higher than conventional, Fannie Mae conforming loans.  Jumbo mortgage rates are, on average, about 1/8th to 1/4 of a percentage point higher.  In other words, if a Fannie Mae conforming, 30-year fixed rate is at 6%, you can expect your jumbo mortgage rate to be at 6.125% or 6.25%. 

There is no hard and fast rule regarding jumbo interest rates however.  Again, because these are specialty products offered by particular lenders, rate differences can be more or less than stated above.  For example, if a lender wants to increase their jumbo loan portfolio, they may lower rates so that they are the same as a Fannie Mae loan.  On that same day, another lender may want to pull back the number of jumbo loans in their portfolio and will raise rates accordingly.

This is why it is very important to use a broker- especially for jumbo mortgages.

We will shop around and find the lowest jumbo rates in the country, on that particular day.  We are brokered with over 100 different portfolio lenders and, on any given morning, receive rate updates from every single one of them.  Allow us to shop around for you and offer you the best rate and closing costs that we can.  At that point, we would ask you to call your own bank and compare.

Just for fun, some other types of "Jumbos":

 The Jumbo Game

 Jumbo.com is source for free MP3 files, games, screensavers, and shareware.

 Jumbo the Elephant became part of P.T. Barnum's show in 1882.

 Jumbo's Pumpkin Patch, in Middletown, Maryland.  Free hayrides!