Mortgage lender in Pierce County, WA

Buying in Pierce County

Pierce County, with its county seat in Tacoma, also takes in Lakewood, Puyallup, University Place, Bonney Lake, Gig Harbor and Spanaway. Pierce County files are handled by Steve Umansky, Sr. Branch Manager, NMLS #61764, who is licensed in Washington, from our Southampton, PA office.

2026 conforming limit

$1,063,750 (high-cost area)

2026 FHA limit

$1,063,750 (one-unit, set by HUD)

Above the conforming limit

Jumbo pricing

Closing commonly handled by

escrow and title company

State housing agency

Washington State Housing Finance Commission (general information; not a participating lender)

Your officer

Steve Umansky, NMLS #61764

2026 limits for a one-unit property. Pierce County is designated a high-cost area for conforming loans, so its limit is above the national baseline of $832,750. Sources: FHFA conforming loan limit values and HUD FHA mortgage limits.

Pierce County: Tacoma and Joint Base Lewis-McChord

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is one of the largest military installations on the West Coast, and VA loans are a large share of purchases in Lakewood, DuPont, Spanaway and Puyallup, often on orders with a fixed report date. We request the Certificate of Eligibility at once.

Tacoma has older neighborhoods with homes from the early twentieth century, where a VA or FHA appraisal is more likely to raise condition items. Bonney Lake, Graham and Orting have much of the new construction; parts of the Puyallup and Carbon river valleys are in mapped flood and volcanic-hazard areas, which insurers and local rules take into account. Gig Harbor, across the Narrows, is higher-priced.

Pierce County by the numbers

Median home value

$526,600 (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B25077)

Typical property tax

About 0.91% of home value a year: median tax bill $4,770 on a median value of $526,600 (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B25103)

Transfer tax

State real estate excise tax graduated from 1.1% to 3% of the price, plus local excise tax (Washington Department of Revenue, real estate excise tax)

Largest communities

Tacoma, South Hill, Lakewood, Puyallup (Census Bureau, ACS 2020–2024, table B01003)

The county median home value is $526,600. The 2026 one-unit conforming loan limit here is $1,063,750 and the FHA limit is $1,063,750.

Census figures are survey estimates for owner-occupied homes, not appraisals or tax quotes. We use the actual tax bill for the property when we quote.

Closing and programs in Washington

Closings in Washington are typically handled by an escrow and title company. The closing process, state transfer and recording taxes and first-time buyer programs are covered on the Washington page. Property taxes are set locally; we take the figure from the tax record for the address.

Questions Pierce County buyers ask

Washington notice. Stellar Mortgage Corporation, NMLS #2190975. NMLS Consumer Access.

Limits shown are the 2026 FHFA and HUD figures for Pierce County. Loan limits, tax rates and agency programs are set by third parties and change. Not a commitment to lend.