The Federal Housing Finance Agency is looking to the public for feedback as to how to pare down its multifamily lending programs.
Through a request for public comment issued Friday, the FHFH, which oversees government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, both of which are active in the financing of senior housing development, sought advice on how to reduce their participation in the multifamily market.
Among the options FHFA is considering: restrict available loan terms; simplify and standard loan products; and limit property financing and other business activities.
The GSEs have already undergone several restrictions over the last year in an effort to reduce participation in the market. As ongoing efforts among lawmakers work to reduce the GSEs’ presence in the mortgage market overall in order to make way for private capital, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already have worked to reduce volume of new multifamily business fall 10% this year over last year following FHFA’s 2013 Converatorship Scorecard.
The agency says it expects to achieve that goal this year through increased pricing, limited product offerings and stronger underwriting standards.
“FHFA is currently monitoring the Enterprises’ implementation of this scorecard goal and is actively evaluating how this process is working,” the agency wrote. “For 2014, FHFA intends to continue a path of gradual contraction of the multifamily businesses while awaiting a legislative resolution to the conservatorships.”
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have taken on a collective $3 billion in senior housing loans in the past two years, and have said they will remain in the senior housing market for the duration.
Written by Elizabeth Ecker
