The Best Jumbo Loan Lenders of February 2023

Jumbo mortgages — home loans with balances that exceed the conforming loan limits in their counties — make homeownership possible for borrowers purchasing in high-cost areas or simply “going big” with a luxury home. The best jumbo loan lenders offer borrowers a range of loan options while also providing jumbo rate and product information online.

Best overall jumbo lender: Ally Bank

Why we chose Ally Bank

Ally is an online-only bank licensed to issue both purchase and refinance jumbo loans in 46 states. Ally’s website offers generous rate and product information, as well as quick online preapproval — under five minutes, according to the company — and a digital loan application process.

Ally’s jumbo loan rates in particular are easy to find on the bank’s website and more detailed than most. Rates for purchase and refinance are quoted across six fixed-rate and three adjustable-rate (ARM) jumbo products, not to mention the ability to instantly customize those rates by location, credit score, property type and more. With a maximum loan amount of $4,000,000, Ally offers generous room for jumbo shoppers to expand beyond Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) loan limits and purchase the home that’s right for them.

Best for low-credit jumbo loans: Homebridge Financial Services

Why we chose Homebridge Financial Services

Homebridge Financial Services is a private mortgage lender based in New Jersey. Homebridge’s minimum credit score of 600 was the lowest we found among the jumbo lenders we surveyed and came in an impressive 69 points lower than the average required across those lenders. For jumbo loan shoppers with very damaged credit, this may be your best bet — especially since unless you’re a military borrower, the other lenders we reviewed required a minimum score of at least 660.

Best for high loan amounts: Chase Bank

Why we chose Chase

Chase is the largest bank in the country and has a very strong array of jumbo offerings that includes both fixed- and adjustable-rate loans as well as an interest-only ARM. However, where Chase was truly head-and-shoulders above the rest was with its jumbo loan limit of $9,500,000 — by far the highest of the lenders we evaluated. And, to top it all off, if you’re an existing Chase banking customer, you may be eligible to receive a 0.5% rate discount on a jumbo loan.

Best for interest-only ARMs: Sebonic Financial

Why we chose Sebonic Financial

Sebonic is a small direct mortgage lender based in Charlotte, N.C. Sebonic may be right for you if you want an interest-only ARM, a type of home loan that enables you to make only interest payments for an initial period after purchase. Interest-only mortgages are often seen as riskier home loans, but they may make sense for borrowers who know that they’re going to see higher income in the future or who want to make investments with the money they would otherwise be paying towards the principal loan balance.

If you’ve decided that an interest-only loan is for you, Sebonic makes it easy to apply, sign and submit documents online and track your loan from your browser. The company also uses its own proprietary digital mortgage lending platform to process loans quickly.

Summary of the best jumbo mortgage lenders of 2023

Lender	LendingTree rating and “best of” category	Minimum credit score (jumbo loans)	Minimum down payment (jumbo loans)	Maximum jumbo loan amount	Lender review
	Best overall jumbo lender	Not disclosed	10%	Not disclosed	Read our review
	Best for low credit jumbo loans	600	10%	$3 million	Read our review
	Best for high loan amounts	Not disclosed	15%	$9.5 million	Read our review
	Best for jumbo interest-only ARMs	Not disclosed	Not disclosed	$3 million	Read our review

How we chose our picks for the best jumbo lenders

To determine the best jumbo loan lenders, we reviewed data collected from 35 lender reviews completed by the LendingTree editorial staff for 2023.

Each lender review gives a rating between zero and five stars based on several features including digital application processes, available loan products and the accessibility of product and lending information. To evaluate jumbo-specific factors, we awarded extra points to lenders that publish jumbo mortgage rates online and offer both fixed- and adjustable-rate jumbo loans.

Our editorial team brought together all of the data about lenders in our lender reviews, as well as the scores awarded for jumbo-specific characteristics, to find the lenders with a product mix, information and guidelines that best serve the needs of jumbo loan borrowers. To be considered for our “best overall” pick, lenders had to be able to issue mortgages in over 35 states.

Current jumbo mortgage rates

Although jumbo loan rates are usually thought of as more expensive than 30-year conventional loan rates, that hasn’t necessarily been true over the last year. In 2022, jumbo loan rates actually went back and forth with the conventional 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average several times, hitting their most expensive point — 6.996% — in November. Since then, mortgage interest rates have fallen and the inflation we saw throughout 2022 has also begun to ease. As a result, as of early 2023, the forecast for mortgage rates looks fairly positive. Home prices are still increasing, but by less than they have in previous months.

If you live in a high-cost area or are in the market for a luxury property that requires a jumbo loan, 2023 just may be the year you jump the hurdles of the jumbo loan requirements and land in a new home.

Here’s a look at mortgage rates today:

What are the jumbo loan requirements?

Jumbo loan requirements vary from lender to lender, but you can expect to face a fairly high bar to get into one, including a 700 minimum credit score, a 45% maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio and six to 24 months of cash reserves.

How can I avoid a jumbo loan?

One option is to apply for an 80-10-10 loan. First, you borrow 80% with a primary home loan, then you pay 10% with a cash down payment and finally, you take out a home equity line of credit (HELOC) or home equity loan to cover the remaining 10%. Also called a piggyback loan, the 80-10-10 loan has three benefits:

1. You can lock in your first mortgage loan at conforming interest rates, which are often lower than jumbo rates.
2. You’ll likely have less stringent lending guidelines than jumbo loans, which may mean faster approval timelines with less documentation.
3. You’ll likely avoid paying for private mortgage insurance, which is an add-on cost to your monthly mortgage payment that protects your lender if you go into mortgage default.

Piggyback loans aren’t as common as they once were, but the share of piggyback loans that are jumbo loans is growing.

What is the difference between a jumbo and a conforming loan?

Conforming loan limits are set by the FHFA every year for every county in the country. Any loan for an amount higher than these limits qualifies as a jumbo loan.

How do I choose a jumbo loan lender?

The key to choosing a jumbo loan lender is the same as it is for choosing a mortgage lender for any loan type: get your credit score looking its best, educate yourself on the available loan options and comparison shop. Credit scores are one of the single biggest factors that will determine your interest rate, but ultimately, all that matters is what’s in your loan estimates.

Gather loan estimates from three to five lenders and compare the details of the loans they are offering you — it may sound simple, but studies have shown that doing so can save you thousands.

Jumbo loans vs. conventional loans: How do they compare?

Conventional loans are any loans that are not backed or insured by a government agency, and are usually offered by banks, credit unions and other “normal” lenders. Non-conforming loans, on the other hand, are backed by government agencies like the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) or U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

Understanding high-balance versus jumbo versus conventional loans can be a little confusing, but the key thing to remember is that conventional loans can be conforming or non-conforming. A conventional loan can remain within the conforming loan limits or, like jumbo loans, exceed them.