Freddie Mac

Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell delivered remarks last week at American Enterprise Institute and gave his opinion on reforming the Government Sponsored Enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency recently proposed benchmark goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the “GSEs”) in serving low income households for both single and multifamily.

Should the Enterprises ever be permitted to invest in LIHTCs, the investments in rural areas would be eligible to receive Duty to Serve credit.

The increase comes in light of continued high levels of property acquisitions and deliveries of newly constructed apartment units…

Freddie Mac became the nation’s leader in multifamily lending for the first time, with $47.3 billion in loan purchase and bond guarantee volume for its Multifamily business in 2015, up from $28.3 billion the previous year.

Tasked with ensuring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac meet a requirement to serve underserved markets, the Federal Housing Finance Agency proposed a rule that will allow the GSEs to earn Duty to Serve credit activities related to several HUD housing programs. A public comment period on the proposed rule is open for 90 days.

Freddie Mac Multifamily is encouraging energy efficiency and affordability in apartment properties and strengthening the market for green investments by offering a Green Rebate to borrowers on qualified property loans who voluntarily provide an ENERGY STAR® score with their loan documents.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency is required to set annual housing goals for mortgages purchased by Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. FHFA established the 2015-17 goals in a final rule.

Freddie Mac financed a $215 million loan for Harbor Point on the Bay, a large 1,284-unit mixed-income community that includes both affordable and market-rate housing on more than 43 acres in Boston. KeyBank Real Estate Capital arranged the senior debt financing for the borrower, Corcoran, Mullins, Jennison Inc. (CMJ), which is committed to providing quality affordable housing.

Freddie Mac recently priced an $812 million offering of Structured Pass-Through Certificates (K Certificates), which are multifamily mortgage-backed securities. The K Certificates (K-PLB Certificates) are backed by Los Angeles’ historic Park La Brea, the largest apartment community on the West Coast, and are expected to settle on or about June 26, 2015.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that it is revising the affordable housing lending categories that are excluded from the multifamily lending purchase caps established in the 2015 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

Freddie Mac announced that David Leopold, a long-time leader of affordable rental housing lending and investments, is joining the company on April 20, 2015, as vice president of affordable housing production for the Multifamily business.