Getting a conventional loan in Massachusetts: numbers, limits and rules
On Massachusetts’s rough $640,000 median, a conventional loan with 5% down means $32,000 at closing and about $4,831 a month with taxes and mortgage insurance; with 20% down, $128,000 and about $3,844. Everything below is worked on those numbers and on the state rules that change them.
| Conforming limit (2026, one unit) | $832,750 baseline in 7 of 14 counties, 7 high-cost counties up to $1,249,125 (Dukes County, Nantucket County) |
|---|---|
| Median home price (approx.) | $640,000 — statewide order of magnitude |
| 20% down on the median | $128,000 down, loan $512,000, about $3,236/month P&I at 6.5% |
| 5% down on the median | $32,000 down, loan $608,000, about $3,843/month P&I + about $380 PMI |
| PMI ends (5% down, scheduled payments) | request at 80% after about 10 years and 4 months, automatic at 78% after about 11 years and 3 months |
| Property tax (effective) | about 1.14% — roughly $7,296 a year on the median |
| Closing practice | Attorney closing state |
How much house stays conforming in Massachusetts
A conventional loan is conforming when it fits Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s limit and their guidelines; in Massachusetts that limit is $832,750 for a one-unit home in 2026. With 20% down, a purchase up to about $1,040,938 stays conforming; with 5% down, up to about $876,579. The state’s $640,000 median leaves ample room, so a typical purchase here is conforming unless the buyer is in a premium neighborhood. Every Massachusetts county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.
County-level loan limits in Massachusetts for 2026
FHFA sets the limit county by county. In Massachusetts, 7 of 14 counties use the $832,750 baseline and 7 — Dukes County, Essex County, Middlesex County, Nantucket County, Norfolk County, Plymouth County and others — carry high-cost limits, the highest being $1,249,125 in Dukes County, Nantucket County. High-cost rows are in bold.
| County | 1 unit | 2 units | 3 units | 4 units |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barnstable County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Berkshire County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Bristol County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Dukes County | $1,249,125 | $1,599,375 | $1,933,200 | $2,402,625 |
| Essex County | $962,550 | $1,232,250 | $1,489,500 | $1,851,100 |
| Franklin County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Hampden County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Hampshire County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
| Middlesex County | $962,550 | $1,232,250 | $1,489,500 | $1,851,100 |
| Nantucket County | $1,249,125 | $1,599,375 | $1,933,200 | $2,402,625 |
| Norfolk County | $962,550 | $1,232,250 | $1,489,500 | $1,851,100 |
| Plymouth County | $962,550 | $1,232,250 | $1,489,500 | $1,851,100 |
| Suffolk County | $962,550 | $1,232,250 | $1,489,500 | $1,851,100 |
| Worcester County | $832,750 | $1,066,250 | $1,288,800 | $1,601,750 |
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.
Monthly cost on a $640,000 Massachusetts home
Worked at an illustrative 6.5% over 30 years on the $640,000 median. PMI uses order-of-magnitude annual rates by down payment; tax uses Massachusetts’s approximate 1.14% effective rate. Your county, score and insurer will move every column.
| Down payment | Cash down | Loan | P&I | PMI (est.) | Property tax | Monthly total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3% | $19,200 | $620,800 | $3,924 | $466 | $608 | $4,998 |
| 5% | $32,000 | $608,000 | $3,843 | $380 | $608 | $4,831 |
| 10% | $64,000 | $576,000 | $3,641 | $240 | $608 | $4,489 |
| 20% | $128,000 | $512,000 | $3,236 | — | $608 | $3,844 |
For other loan amounts and rates, the payment tables show principal and interest, total interest and the PMI break points.
The PMI timeline on a Massachusetts purchase
Mortgage insurance on a conventional loan is temporary. With only the scheduled payments at 6.5%, the Massachusetts buyer who put 5% down reaches the 80% request point after about 10 years and 4 months and the 78% automatic point after about 11 years and 3 months; with 10% down the request point comes after about 7 years and 11 months. Paying an extra $384 a month toward principal, or asking for cancellation on a new appraisal after two years of appreciation, shortens the clock. The full rules are on how to remove PMI.
Closing costs and taxes in Massachusetts
Massachusetts requires an attorney to conduct the closing: the Supreme Judicial Court held in 2011 that examining title, preparing the deed and presiding over the settlement constitute the practice of law, so a Massachusetts lawyer acts as closing attorney on every mortgage. The lender’s attorney typically represents the bank, and the buyer may hire separate counsel for the purchase and sale agreement. Funding is wet and the attorney’s fee, the title examination and the registry fees make buyer costs run toward the higher end of the 2 percent to 4 percent range.
Massachusetts does not tax the mortgage; the registry of deeds charges a flat statutory recording fee per instrument, around $200 for a mortgage, regardless of the loan amount. The deeds excise of $4.56 per $1,000 of consideration is paid by the seller on the deed, with higher rates in Barnstable County and separate land-bank fees on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. Borrowers pay only the registry fee on a refinance. Massachusetts charges deed excise stamps of $4.56 per $1,000 (0.456%; higher in Barnstable County and on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, which add land bank fees), paid by the seller.
Massachusetts buyers face attorney and title fees, lender fees and prepaids — roughly 2% to 3% of the price — while the deed excise falls on the seller; a buyer’s attorney is customary.
Three Massachusetts rules to read before signing
Prepayment. Massachusetts allows a prepayment penalty on a first mortgage of an owner-occupied one- to three-family home only within the first three years and only up to the lesser of three months’ interest or the balance of the first year’s interest (General Laws chapter 183, section 56). Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac do not buy loans with prepayment penalties, so a conforming loan will not carry one.
Spouses and title. Massachusetts is a separate-property state where married couples commonly hold as tenants by the entirety and a non-owner spouse need not sign a mortgage.
Homestead. The Massachusetts Homestead Act (General Laws chapter 188) gives every owner-occupied home an automatic $125,000 of protection against unsecured creditors and $500,000 if the owner records a declaration of homestead, with owners 62 or older or disabled each able to claim the $500,000 amount.
The complete state layer — licensing, predatory-lending limits, disclosures, foreclosure — is on mortgage laws in Massachusetts.
Frequently asked questions
What is the conforming loan limit in Massachusetts for 2026?
$832,750 for a one-unit home in most of Massachusetts (7 of 14 counties), but 7 FHFA high-cost counties go higher — Dukes County, Nantucket County tops the state at $1,249,125, the national ceiling. Check your county in the table below.
When can I cancel PMI on a conventional loan in Massachusetts?
Federal law, not Massachusetts law, sets the dates: request at 80% of original value, automatic at 78%, and in any case at the loan’s midpoint. On the median Massachusetts price with 5% down at an illustrative 6.5%, that is roughly 10 years and 4 months and 11 years and 3 months respectively if you only make the scheduled payment.
Does Massachusetts add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?
Massachusetts does not tax the mortgage; the registry of deeds charges a flat statutory recording fee per instrument, around $200 for a mortgage, regardless of the loan amount. Massachusetts charges deed excise stamps of $4.56 per $1,000 (0.456%; higher in Barnstable County and on Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, which add land bank fees), paid by the seller. Massachusetts buyers face attorney and title fees, lender fees and prepaids — roughly 2% to 3% of the price — while the deed excise falls on the seller; a buyer’s attorney is customary.
Official sources for Massachusetts
- MassHousing and the Massachusetts Housing Partnership: the agency that runs the state’s homebuyer programs
- Massachusetts Division of Banks: licenses mortgage lenders and brokers and takes complaints
- NMLS Consumer Access: check any lender’s or loan officer’s license
- FHFA conforming loan limit files: the county limits shown on this page
Links checked September 22, 2026. Researched and edited by Clément Lacaille (Tech-Bharat); how we research.
Sources
Related: Financing a duplex, triplex or fourplex: down payment, rental income and the rules that change, Assumable mortgages: taking over a seller’s low rate, and what it really costs, How to compare mortgage offers: reading the Loan Estimate line by line, Renovation loans: HomeStyle, CHOICERenovation and FHA 203(k) compared. First home in Massachusetts: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.