Getting a conventional loan in Arkansas: numbers, limits and rules

On Arkansas’s rough $210,000 median, a conventional loan with 5% down means $10,500 at closing and about $1,495 a month with taxes and mortgage insurance; with 20% down, $42,000 and about $1,171. Everything below is worked on those numbers and on the state rules that change them.

The Arkansas conforming limit and where jumbo starts

Two numbers decide the question in Arkansas: the 2026 conforming limit of $832,750 and the price you pay. Keep the loan at or under the limit — by price, by down payment, or with a conforming first plus a second lien — and you get Fannie/Freddie pricing and flexibility (3% down programs, automated underwriting, appraisal waivers). At the state median of $210,000, every scenario below is conforming. Every Arkansas county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

2026 conforming loan limits by county in Arkansas

For 2026 the FHFA county list shows a single tier in Arkansas: all 75 counties at the $832,750 baseline for one unit, $1,066,250 for two units, $1,288,800 for three and $1,601,750 for four. Above those figures a loan is jumbo, whatever the county.

Source: FHFA, Conforming Loan Limit Values for 2026 (county list, mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026). Limits are for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac loans; FHA and VA use their own county figures.

Down payment and monthly payment, four ways

Each row is the same $210,000 Arkansas home at 6.5% for 30 years — only the down payment changes. PMI is an illustrative market rate for that down payment; property tax is the state’s rough 0.62% effective rate divided by twelve.

Under 20% down, conventional loans require mortgage insurance until the loan-to-value falls; the next section gives the ${e.nom} timeline. Payment tables at other amounts and rates: mortgage payment tables.

When PMI ends in Arkansas

Under the Homeowners Protection Act, the 80% request point and the 78% automatic point are measured against the original value. The scheduled payments on the $199,500 5% down loan reach 80% after about 10 years and 4 months, on the $189,000 10% down loan after about 7 years and 11 months. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac servicers also cancel on current value — typically 75% LTV after two years or 80% after five — which in a rising Arkansas market can come sooner.

Closing costs and taxes in Arkansas

Arkansas closings are conducted by title companies and their closing agents; an attorney is not required, although lenders often have counsel prepare or review the mortgage and deed because the Arkansas Supreme Court restricts document preparation by non-lawyers to standardized forms. Funding is wet, with disbursement on the day of closing. Title premiums and closing fees are among the lower in the South.

Arkansas has no mortgage tax and no intangible tax on the note; the mortgage is recorded with the county circuit clerk for a per-page fee. The state real property transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 (Ark. Code § 26-60-105) falls on the deed, not the loan, and is usually paid by the seller. A refinance therefore costs only recording fees. Arkansas levies a real property transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of consideration (0.33%), customarily paid by the seller unless the contract says otherwise.

Closing costs in Arkansas are modest — typically 2% to 3% of the price — with the transfer tax usually on the seller’s side and title premiums among the lower in the region.

Prepayment, spouses and homestead in Arkansas

Prepayment. Arkansas has no general statute forbidding prepayment penalties on residential mortgages; the Arkansas Home Loan Protection Act bars them on high-cost home loans and federal qualified-mortgage rules limit them elsewhere. The federal ability-to-repay rule caps penalties tightly and bans them on adjustable or higher-priced loans.

Spouses and title. Arkansas is a separate-property state that, unusually, still recognizes dower and curtesy (Ark. Code § 28-11-301 et seq.), so a spouse who is not on title must sign the mortgage to release those inchoate rights or the lender’s lien is subject to them.

Homestead. Arkansas protects the homestead by constitution (Art. 9, §§ 3-5): up to 80 acres outside a city (160 acres if worth no more than $2,500) or one acre in town, with a minimum of a quarter acre that is protected regardless of value — so within the acreage limits the equity protection is unlimited.

The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Arkansas.

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Arkansas for 2026?

For 2026, $832,750 (one unit) in all 75 Arkansas counties — the national baseline, with no county above it. The county table on this page lists the two-, three- and four-unit figures. Above the limit, the loan is jumbo and follows lender rules.

When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Arkansas?

Two thresholds apply everywhere, including Arkansas: you may ask at 80% loan-to-value (original value, good payment history) and the servicer must stop charging at 78%. Scheduled payments on a $199,500 loan at 6.5% reach 80% of a $210,000 price after about 10 years and 4 months. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac also allow cancellation on a new appraisal after enough seasoning.

Does Arkansas add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Arkansas has no mortgage tax and no intangible tax on the note; the mortgage is recorded with the county circuit clerk for a per-page fee. Arkansas levies a real property transfer tax of $3.30 per $1,000 of consideration (0.33%), customarily paid by the seller unless the contract says otherwise. Closing costs in Arkansas are modest — typically 2% to 3% of the price — with the transfer tax usually on the seller’s side and title premiums among the lower in the region.

Related: Getting a mortgage on retirement income: what counts and how it is calculated, Buying a home from a family member: gift of equity and the non-arm’s-length file, Buying another home before selling the first: qualifying with two payments, Conventional loan requirements in 2026: what Fannie Mae’s guide actually says. First home in Arkansas: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.