Jumbo loans for your Arizona home.

What makes a loan jumbo

Every year the Federal Housing Finance Agency sets the conforming loan limit, the largest loan Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy. For 2026 the baseline limit for a single-family home is $832,750, and Maricopa County uses the baseline. One dollar above that line and your loan is jumbo: funded and kept by private investors rather than sold to the agencies.

In Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Cave Creek, and a growing share of the rest of the Valley, that is not exotic territory. It is a normal Tuesday. A large portion of north Scottsdale purchases need jumbo financing or a deliberate structure to avoid it.

Jumbo is where lender choice matters most

Conforming loans price within a fairly tight band because every lender is selling to the same two buyers. Jumbo lenders keep their own paper, so they set their own credit boxes, reserve requirements, and pricing appetite, and those vary a lot. One lender wants 740+ credit and a year of reserves. Another will take a lower score with more equity. A third runs a special on loans just above the conforming line. The spread between jumbo lenders on the same file is routinely wider than anything you see in conforming, which makes shopping the wholesale market worth real money here.

What jumbo lenders look for

• Credit depth: Most jumbo programs want stronger scores than conforming, though the floor varies by lender and down payment.
• Reserves: Expect lenders to ask for several months of housing payments in the bank after closing. The amount scales with loan size.
• Documented income: Full tax returns and a closer look at income stability. Self-employed buyers have real jumbo options too, including bank statement programs at certain lenders.
• Appraisal scrutiny: Larger loans sometimes need two appraisals or a field review, depending on the lender and amount.

Ways to structure around or into jumbo

Sometimes the right answer is not a bigger loan but a smarter structure. A larger down payment that lands the loan exactly at the conforming limit can beat a jumbo rate. A first mortgage at the conforming limit with a second mortgage behind it covers the gap on some files. Veterans with full entitlement can go above the conforming limit with VA financing and no down payment at all. I price these structures against straight jumbo on every file where the math is close.

Scottsdale knowledge, wholesale pricing

I live in north Scottsdale and work these price points constantly. If you are buying or refinancing above the limit anywhere in the Valley, send me the scenario. You will get a real comparison across the jumbo market, not one bank's one answer. More on the area in our Scottsdale mortgage broker guide.

Frequently asked questions