Calabria said that the new cap addresses the shortage of affordable housing in the US
The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) has released the revised cap structure on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s multifamily businesses.
The FHFA set the new multifamily loan purchase limits to $100 billion for each government-sponsored enterprise for the five-quarter period from Q4 2019 to Q4 2020.
The agency said that at least 37.5% of Fannie and Freddie’s multifamily business should be “mission-driven, affordable housing” to ensure that the GSEs focus on affordable housing and traditionally underserved markets.
“Multifamily housing is a critical component of addressing our nation's shortage of affordable housing," said FHFA Director Mark Calabria. “These new multifamily caps eliminate loopholes, provide ample support for the market without crowding out private capital, and significantly increase affordable housing support over previous levels. The enterprises should also manage under the caps to provide consistent, stable liquidity to the market throughout the entire five-quarter period."
