New Conforming Limits for 2006

Talk has been going around for a few weeks about the upcoming release of the new conforming loan limits for 2006 from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The amounts will not be offiicial until early December, and not effective until January, be here goes to concenseus figures:
1 Unit - $400,000
2 Unit - $512,000
3 Unit - $618,900
4 Unit - $769,100
The 1 unit amount is up 11% from the 2005 conforming limit of $359,650.
Most Americans don't need a $400,000 mortgage. The median existing-home price was $218,000 in July, according to the National Association of Realtors. That's a 14.1 percent increase from the previous July. But in some parts of the country $400,000 isn't enough. For example in California a $500,000 home is not out of the norm. A $400,000 loan is needed just to get to 80 percent loan-to-value ratio.
Record home sales prices this year are driving the increase in loan limits. "There's a lot of differentiation across the country regarding the rate of home-price appreciation. Certain coastal states have seen growth in excess of 20 percent while areas of the Midwest have seen only 4 percent to 5 percent growth," says Mike Fratantoni, economist with the Mortgage Bankers Association.