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

Conforming limit $832,750, median about $230,000, property tax about 1.53%: those three figures decide most of what a conventional mortgage costs in Ohio. Below, the down payment and monthly numbers at 3%, 5%, 10% and 20% down, the month PMI can end, and the state rules a conventional borrower here should know.

Loan limits: the Ohio picture

$832,750 is the ceiling on a conforming one-unit loan in Ohio for 2026. On the $230,000 median, a 20% down loan of $184,000 is 22% 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 Ohio county is in the table below; see conforming loan limits and jumbo loans.

Ohio loan limits, county by county (2026)

FHFA’s 2026 county list gives every Ohio county the same one-unit limit, $832,750, and the same multi-unit limits ($1,066,250 / $1,288,800 / $1,601,750). Nothing in the state is designated high-cost, so a loan above $832,750 is jumbo anywhere in Ohio.

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.

What a conventional loan costs on the Ohio median

Illustrative 6.5% 30-year fixed rate, principal and interest only; mortgage insurance at typical market rates for each down payment (it varies with credit score); property tax at the state’s approximate 1.53% effective rate. Homeowners insurance and any HOA come on top. None of it is an offer.

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

Federal rules, identical in Ohio: you may request cancellation at 80% of the original value and the servicer must cancel at 78%. On the scheduled amortization alone, the 5% down loan above reaches 80% after about 10 years and 4 months and 78% after about 11 years and 3 months; the 10% down loan, 80% after about 7 years and 11 months; the 3% down loan, 80% after about 11 years and 1 months. At roughly $137 a month on the 5% scenario, that is about $16,988 of PMI over the period — the strongest argument for extra principal payments or a value-based cancellation request once prices rise.

Closing costs and taxes in Ohio

Ohio closings are run by licensed title agencies and escrow companies; lawyers are not required, though they often own or work for the title agency. Ohio’s Good Funds Law, R.C. 1349.21, requires that funds over a small threshold be wired or otherwise collected before a title agent disburses, making it a wet-funding state in practice. Title and settlement fees are moderate, and title insurance rates are filed with the Department of Insurance.

Ohio has no mortgage or intangible tax; a mortgage is recorded at the county recorder for per-page fees. The conveyance fee on deeds under R.C. 319.54 is $1 per $1,000 at the state level, and most counties add a permissive fee of up to $3 per $1,000, customarily paid by the seller. A refinance pays recording fees only. Ohio’s state conveyance fee is $1 per $1,000 (0.1%) plus a county permissive fee of up to $3 per $1,000, for a total of up to 0.4%, customarily paid by the seller.

Ohio buyer closing costs typically run 2% to 3% of the price; title agencies handle closings, and property taxes are paid in arrears, which produces sizable prorations at settlement.

Ohio rules that touch a conventional loan

Prepayment. R.C. 1343.011(C) forbids prepayment penalties on residential mortgages below a statutory principal threshold and, on larger loans made by non-bank lenders, limits them to the first several years; the Ohio Residential Mortgage Lending Act adds restrictions for its licensees. Federal QM rules ban prepayment penalties on most conventional loans anyway; the Loan Estimate says yes or no on page one.

Spouses and title. Ohio is a separate-property state, but it is one of the last states to keep dower: under R.C. 2103.02 a spouse holds a one-third life interest in any real estate the other spouse owns during the marriage, so a non-titled spouse must sign the mortgage and the deed to release dower, and a lender that forgets has a clouded lien.

Homestead. R.C. 2329.66(A)(1) exempts a homeowner’s equity in a residence from judgment creditors up to an amount that the Ohio Judicial Conference adjusts for inflation every three years and that now exceeds $150,000 per owner — check the current figure.

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

Frequently asked questions

What is the conforming loan limit in Ohio for 2026?

$832,750 for a one-unit home in every one of Ohio’s 88 counties: FHFA designates no high-cost area in the state for 2026. Above that figure the loan is jumbo. On the state’s $230,000 median, a 20% down loan of $184,000 is well inside the limit.

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

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

Ohio has no mortgage or intangible tax; a mortgage is recorded at the county recorder for per-page fees. Ohio’s state conveyance fee is $1 per $1,000 (0.1%) plus a county permissive fee of up to $3 per $1,000, for a total of up to 0.4%, customarily paid by the seller. Ohio buyer closing costs typically run 2% to 3% of the price; title agencies handle closings, and property taxes are paid in arrears, which produces sizable prorations at settlement.

Related: Cash-out refinance: limits, costs and when it is the wrong tool, Rate-and-term refinance: when it pays, how to compute the break-even, DSCR loans vs conventional for investment property: qualify on rent or on income, Seller concessions limits: how much a seller can pay toward your closing costs. First home in Ohio: programs and assistance. Hub: Conventional loan.