Conventional loans in Montana: conforming limit, real monthly costs, PMI timeline

A conventional loan in Montana is priced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s national rules, then shaped by local facts: a $460,000 median, property tax near 0.74%, title company closings, and a baseline conforming limit of $832,750. Here are the numbers and the rules, in that order.

Conforming or jumbo in Montana?

$832,750 is the ceiling on a conforming one-unit loan in Montana for 2026. On the $460,000 median, a 20% down loan of $368,000 is 44% of the limit, comfortably conforming. Above the limit the loan is jumbo: typically a higher score, more reserves, a full appraisal and no automated-underwriting shortcuts. Every Montana county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

Conforming limits for all 56 Montana counties

No county in Montana qualifies as an FHFA high-cost area for 2026, so the table below is flat: $832,750 for one unit in all 56 counties, rising to $1,601,750 for a four-unit property. Limits change every January; these are the figures for mortgages acquired in calendar year 2026.

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.

The numbers: 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down in Montana

Each row is the same $460,000 Montana 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 0.74% effective rate divided by twelve.

For other loan amounts and rates, the payment tables show principal and interest, total interest and the PMI break points.

How long you pay PMI here

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 $437,000 5% down loan reach 80% after about 10 years and 4 months, on the $414,000 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 Montana market can come sooner.

What Montana adds at closing

Montana closings are handled by title companies through their escrow departments, which prepare the settlement statement, hold funds, issue the policies and record the trust indenture, and no attorney is required. Buyers occasionally retain a lawyer for a ranch or a water-rights issue, but a standard residential file is closed entirely by the title company. Funding is wet, and buyer costs of 2 percent to 3 percent are typical, with no transfer tax to add.

Montana levies no mortgage tax, intangible tax or documentary stamp on the trust indenture, and no real estate transfer tax on the deed; the county clerk and recorder charges a per-page recording fee. A Realty Transfer Certificate must accompany every deed for the Department of Revenue’s records, but it carries no tax. Recording a Montana trust indenture therefore costs only the clerk’s fees. Montana has no real estate transfer tax and no mortgage tax; only recording fees apply.

Montana buyer closing costs typically run 2% to 3% of the price; title companies handle closings, and rural appraisals can be costly and slow.

State law a conventional borrower should know

Prepayment. Montana has no general statute forbidding prepayment penalties on residential first mortgages, so the note controls within the federal QM limits. Federal QM rules ban prepayment penalties on most conventional loans anyway; the Loan Estimate says yes or no on page one.

Spouses and title. Montana is a separate-property state without dower, so a spouse who is not on title need not sign a trust indenture unless a homestead declaration is on record.

Homestead. Montana’s homestead protection is not automatic: the owner must record a declaration of homestead with the county clerk (Montana Code Annotated 70-32-105), after which the exemption shelters at least $350,000 of equity, a figure raised in 2019 and subject to later adjustments that should be verified.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Montana for 2026?

The FHFA baseline of $832,750 applies statewide — none of Montana’s 56 counties qualifies as high-cost in 2026. With 20% down you can buy up to about $1,040,938 and stay conforming; two- to four-unit homes have higher limits ($1,066,250, $1,288,800, $1,601,750).

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

Federal law, not Montana 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 Montana 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 Montana add anything to a conventional loan’s closing costs?

Montana levies no mortgage tax, intangible tax or documentary stamp on the trust indenture, and no real estate transfer tax on the deed; the county clerk and recorder charges a per-page recording fee. Montana has no real estate transfer tax and no mortgage tax; only recording fees apply. Montana buyer closing costs typically run 2% to 3% of the price; title companies handle closings, and rural appraisals can be costly and slow.

Related: Conventional loan requirements in 2026: what Fannie Mae’s guide actually says, USDA vs VA vs FHA vs conventional: the four loan types compared, 2026 conforming loan limits: $832,750 in most counties, up to $1,249,125 in high-cost areas, 30-year vs 15-year mortgage: the real trade-off, with the numbers. First home in Montana: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.