SACRAMENTO -- Residents in seven Bay Area counties may have an easier time paying off their mortgages because the counties are going to temporarily receive the maximum federal government loan limit, the Federal Housing Administration announced this week.

A total of 14 California counties will now receive a loan limit of $729,750, an increase from the previous total of $362,790, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's office announced Tuesday.

Last week, Schwarzenegger met with U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Secretary Alphonso Jackson and discussed permanently raising federal loan limits.

"I applaud the administration's swift action to help California's housing market rebound," Schwarzenegger said. "I will continue to ask Congress to pass comprehensive reform legislation to make these increases permanent."

Bay Area counties now eligible for the maximum loan limit are Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, Napa, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara.