The baseline $417,000 conforming loan limit is almost certain to remain unchanged in 2016, according to an Inside Mortgage Finance analysis of key house-price trends. The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently confirmed that it will use the seasonally-adjusted “expanded data” house-price index as the yardstick for determining whether increases should be made to the $417,000 baseline, which has been in place for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac business since 2006. As of the second quarter of 2015, the most recent data available, the HPI reading was...