The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has sent a proposed rule to the Federal Register establishing new housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The instructions include single-family and multifamily goals. FHFA is proposing multifamily goals for low-income families and for very low-income families, both expressed in terms of minimum numbers of units financed. In accordance with HERA, the GSEs will also be reporting their funding of low-income units in small (5-50 unit) multifamily properties.
There are no overall goals for all mortgages (single-family and multifamily combined) purchased by the Enterprises, as there were before HERA.
The rule also proposes to prohibit housing goals credit for mortgages in private-label securities. FHFA does not intend for the Enterprises to undertake uneconomic or high-risk activities in support of the goals, nor does it intend for the Enterprises’ state of conservatorship to be a justification for withdrawing support from these market segments. The public comment period for the proposed rule is 45 days from the date of publication in the Federal Register. Additionally, FHFA intends to issue two related proposed rules in the near future””the FHLBanks’ Affordable Housing Goals rule and the Enterprises’ Duty to Serve rule. Read More…Read More…
