How to Choose the Right Mortgage in Central Oregon (2026 Limits)

The loan decides the payment as much as the price does, and Central Oregon buyers have five programs to choose from, each with its own limits, fees, and fit. This guide compares them with the 2026 figures for Deschutes County from the agencies that set them, then covers fixed versus adjustable, points, and rate locks. Limits and fees change every January, so the year is in every number.

Conventional

A conventional loan is one Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac will buy. For 2026 the conforming limit for a one-unit home in Deschutes County is $832,750, which is the national baseline, per the Federal Housing Finance Agency's county file. Above that a loan is jumbo, with its own pricing and larger reserve requirements set by each lender. First-time buyers can put down as little as 3% under Fannie Mae's 97% loan-to-value programs. Other conventional loans require more, on a schedule set by the agencies' eligibility matrix, and 20% down avoids mortgage insurance.

Two things changed recently. For loans run through Fannie Mae's automated underwriting on or after November 16, 2025, there is no minimum credit score. The 620 floor still applies to manually underwritten loans. And private mortgage insurance is not forever: under the federal Homeowners Protection Act you can ask the servicer to cancel it when the balance reaches 80% of the original value, and the servicer must cancel it automatically at 78%, per the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

FHA

An FHA loan is insured by the federal government and priced for buyers with less cash or thinner credit. The 2026 one-unit limit in Deschutes County is $718,750, per HUD's limits file effective January 1, 2026. The minimum down payment is 3.5% with a credit score of 580 or higher, and 10% with a score between 500 and 579, per HUD Handbook 4000.1. The cost is mortgage insurance: an upfront premium of 1.75% of the base loan amount, which can be financed, and an annual premium of 0.55% of the loan on a 30-year loan with less than 5% down at or under the base limit, collected monthly, per HUD's mortgagee letter. On a $400,000 loan the upfront premium is $7,000. Unlike conventional mortgage insurance, FHA's annual premium does not drop off at 78% on a low-down-payment loan. Most FHA buyers refinance out of it once they have equity.

VA

For eligible veterans, service members, and surviving spouses, a VA loan needs no down payment and no monthly mortgage insurance. The cost is a one-time funding fee: 2.15% of the loan on first use with less than 5% down, 3.3% on later use, 1.5% with 5% to 10% down, and 1.25% with 10% or more, per the Department of Veterans Affairs. Veterans receiving VA compensation for a service-connected disability are exempt from the fee entirely, and some Central Oregon veterans qualify for that without knowing it. The VA also publishes its appraisal fee schedule, which for a single-family home in Oregon is $850 as of May 1, 2026.

USDA

A USDA guaranteed loan needs no down payment and is limited to eligible rural areas and to household income under a county cap. Much of Deschutes County outside the Bend and Redmond city areas qualifies geographically, and the USDA's address lookup gives the answer for a specific house. For Deschutes County the income limit in effect on September 7, 2026 is $138,200 for a household of one to four and $182,450 for five to eight, per the USDA's eligibility tool. The guarantee fee for fiscal 2026 is 1.00% upfront and 0.35% a year. La Pine, Sisters, and the acreage around Bend are where this loan shows up most.

Jumbo

Any loan above $832,750 in Deschutes County is jumbo. It is a large share of Bend's west side and the resort communities. Lenders set their own down payment, credit, and reserve requirements, and they vary enough that a jumbo buyer should get three quotes rather than one.

Fixed or adjustable

A fixed-rate loan holds the rate for the term. An adjustable-rate loan holds a lower rate for a fixed period, commonly five, seven, or ten years, then adjusts on a schedule with caps. It fits a buyer who will sell or refinance inside the fixed period and could carry the adjusted payment if they do not. Ask for the cap structure in writing. For context on where rates have been, Freddie Mac's annual average 30-year rate was 6.81% in 2023, 6.72% in 2024, and 6.60% in 2025, with the 2023 peak at 7.79% the week of October 26, and the current average is 6.71% for the week of September 3, 2026.

Points and locks

Paying points at closing lowers the rate for the life of the loan. Whether it pays depends on the cost of the points divided by the monthly saving, which is the break-even in months. Keep the loan past that and points win. A rate lock holds the quoted rate for a set number of days while the loan closes. Ask how long the lock runs, what an extension costs, and whether the lender will float down if rates fall before closing. All three answers belong on the Loan Estimate, and our guide to closing costs for Bend buyers explains what else is on it.

Local or national lender

A local lender knows the appraisers, the title companies, and what a Bend listing agent expects in a pre-approval letter. A national lender may quote a lower rate on a given day. Get both, compare the Loan Estimates line by line, and ask the local one to match. On a competitive listing, the seller's agent will call the lender, and the one who picks up matters.

Questions

Next step

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