As of August 3, 2026, the size of a condo building can matter more to closing on a North Oakland condo than the size of your down payment. On that date, Fannie Mae retired its Limited Review process for established condo projects, and Freddie Mac retired its matching Streamlined Review. A buyer with a lot of equity used to be able to take the shorter route through a larger complex. That route is gone. Now the building either qualifies for a waiver or it goes through a Full Review of the association's finances, reserves, insurance and physical condition before the loan can be sold to Fannie or Freddie.
For a buyer weighing a Temescal condo against a Longfellow bungalow, the practical point is that a condo offer now comes with a second underwriting file, and that file is about the building, not about you.
The line Fannie Mae drew at ten units
Fannie Mae's March 18, 2026 lender letter did two things at the same time. It ended Limited Review, and it widened the Waiver of Project Review to cover new and established projects with ten or fewer units. Fannie folded those changes into its Selling Guide on August 5, 2026. The current Waiver of Project Review section lays out which properties skip the detailed project review:
| Property type | Project review under Fannie Mae's current Guide |
|---|---|
| Unit in a two- to four-unit condo project | Waived, new or established |
| Unit in a five- to ten-unit condo project, not part of a larger development or master association | Waived, new or established |
| Attached unit in a five- to ten-unit project that is part of a larger development or master association | Full Review |
| Detached condo unit sharing no walls, floors, ceilings or breezeways with another unit | Waived |
| Unit in a PUD | Waived, with narrow exceptions for certain manufactured-home arrangements |
| Attached unit in an established condo project with more than ten units | Full Review, since Limited Review is retired |
Look at the PUD row. Two townhomes can share the same block, the same floor plan and the same price, and get different treatment because one is legally a condominium and the other is a unit in a planned unit development. Freddie Mac's parallel bulletin also extends its exemption to eligible projects of two to ten units and excludes five- to ten-unit projects that sit inside a master association. So on the conventional loan side, the ten-unit line and the legal form of the property are now basic facts to pin down before you write an offer.
Where Temescal's condo buildings fall
Much of North Oakland's condo stock was built in a wave of mid-2000s projects. Two buildings that local papers covered at the time both land above the ten-unit line.
- Gate 48, at 48th Street and Shattuck Avenue, was reported by SFGate as a 12-unit condo project, nine blocks from MacArthur BART.
- Temescal Place, at 48th Street and Telegraph Avenue, was described by SFGate as 26 townhouse-style units and by the East Bay Times as a six-story, 25-unit project.
By either count, both buildings are past the cutoff. A conventional loan on a unit in a building like these now generally goes through Full Review, and how that goes depends on the HOA's documents, not on the buyer's credit score.
There is some relief built into the system. A Mortgage Bankers Association spokesperson told CNBC that once a lender completes a Full Review, the project shows up as approved in the Fannie and Freddie systems and does not need the review again for every loan. In practice, the first financed buyer in a given building after August does the work, and later buyers benefit from it.
Some of the largest new housing near MacArthur BART adds no condo inventory at all. MacArthur Commons, at 539–540 39th Street, is a 385-unit rental property next to the station. Close to BART, the for-sale condo choices still come largely from the older buildings described above.
What a Full Review actually examines
According to Fannie Mae, the reason for the change is money. Its lender letter says it has seen a link between condo projects with underfunded reserves and projects that need critical repairs. It warns that owners in those buildings can face unexpected special assessments or higher dues. A Full Review is how lenders check for that risk. In its preview of the change, National Mortgage Professional listed what it covers: budgets, reserves, insurance, litigation, assessments, delinquency, inspections and critical repairs.
Dawn Bauman, CEO of the Community Associations Institute, told CNBC that about 40% of financed condo purchases had used Limited Review and could now need a full one. In the same article, she expected that some buildings that qualified under Limited Review would fail Full Review over a technical detail, and said that failing would not mean a building is unsafe or financially unsound. If a project fails, a buyer may still find a lender willing to keep the loan in its own portfolio, usually with a larger down payment or a higher interest rate. Cash buyers, who skip the process entirely, can close faster.
FHA loans have their own version of this check. HUD's project approval looks at insurance, financial condition, litigation and physical condition. A unit in a building that isn't approved may still qualify through Single-Unit Approval if the project meets the criteria, including having at least five units.
Reading the September numbers with this in mind
Bay East's September 2026 reports cover more than North Oakland. The condo and townhome report covers Oakland and Piedmont, and the detached-home report also includes Emeryville. Even so, the gap between the two property types is clear:
| September 2026, Bay East citywide reports | Detached homes | Condos and townhomes |
|---|---|---|
| Average share of list price paid | 120% | 100% |
| Average days on market | 27 | 52 |
| Months of inventory | 2.1 | 3.6 |
| Median sale price | $950,000 | $501,000 |
| Units sold | 182 | 41 |
The gap was already there before August. In September 2025, attached homes averaged 73 days on market, slower than the 52 days they averaged in September 2026. What the rule does is make one part of the condo market slower to close: units in larger buildings whose HOA paperwork hasn't yet been through Full Review. A condo seller choosing between two offers at list price is comparing how certain each one is to close. A buyer with cash, or with a loan on a unit in a building that's already approved or waived, has a real advantage, and it has nothing to do with the dollar amount of the offer.
For buyers, the same 100% average points the other way. The condo segment had 161 units listed at the end of September, about 3.6 months of supply. That leaves room to negotiate on terms. A buyer who has already confirmed that the building can be financed can use that time to ask for a longer contingency period or a closer look at the HOA's records.
The second date, January 4, 2027
The next change affects HOA budgets directly. For Full Review loan applications dated on or after January 4, 2027, Fannie Mae raises the minimum reserve allocation from 10% to 15% of the association's annual budgeted assessment income. Freddie Mac set the same 15% minimum on the same date. Fannie also tightened the reserve-study option, which applied to loan applications on or after August 3. Lenders using a reserve study must now confirm that the budget funds the highest reserve amount the study recommends, and the baseline funding method is no longer accepted.
A buyer who goes into contract on a larger North Oakland building this winter may be underwritten against a different budget standard than one who applied in the fall. If the association is budgeting near 10% for reserves, its 2027 budget is something to read before you remove contingencies.
Questions to settle before you write the offer
- How many units does the project have, and is it part of a master association or a larger development?
- Is the property legally a condominium or a unit in a PUD? Check the recorded documents, not the listing description.
- Has a lender already completed a Full Review on this project since August 3, 2026?
- What share of the current HOA budget goes to reserves, and does a recent reserve study exist?
- Are any special assessments, litigation or critical repairs pending?
- Does your loan timeline allow time to collect association documents? A September 2026 practitioner article from HGAR said lenders were warning of longer underwriting and recommended preparing documents early and allowing more time for mortgage contingencies.
This post is general information about published lending rules, not legal, tax or financial advice. Your lender and other qualified professionals should confirm how these rules apply to your loan and your building.
Quick answers
Does a bigger down payment still shorten the condo review? Not through Limited Review, which ended for Fannie Mae applications dated on or after August 3, 2026. Freddie Mac retired its Streamlined Review on the same date.
Is a unit in a small building automatically easier to finance? Projects of two to ten units can qualify for Fannie Mae's waiver. Projects of five to ten units qualify only if they aren't part of a larger development or master association.
If a building fails Full Review, is the sale over? Not necessarily. Portfolio lenders may still make the loan, though CNBC reported that these loans often require more money down or carry a higher rate.
If a North Oakland condo is on your shortlist, start with the building's unit count, its legal form and its HOA records, and we'll build your offer around what they show. Reach out to Spencer Mills to work through a specific building's financing questions before you commit to a price.
