Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have lagged behind the primary market in 44 states in their commitment to provide affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families, according to data released Thursday from 1999-2002 by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“While the (government sponsored enterprises) met the affordable housing goals in 2002, they must further utilize their entrepreneurial talents and power in the marketplace to genuinely lead the mortgage finance industry as Congress intended,” said HUD secretary Alphonso Jackson.
HUD recently proposed new housing goals, which it said would push the GSEs to do what is expected of them – helping low- and moderate-income families at least at the same percentage levels as primary market lenders. HUD estimates that if the GSEs matched the overall single-family market during the time frame studied, they would have acquired an additional 470,000 single-family loans for low- and moderate-income families.
Focusing only on home purchase loans, if the GSEs had matched the market, they would have acquired an additional 264,000 loans for these families. Of those 264,000 home loans, approximately 94,000 would have been for first-time home buyers with less-than-area-median income.
By statute, HUD sets the annual affordable housing goals that require a percentage of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac’s mortgage purchases to finance housing for low- and moderate-income borrowers, and borrowers in underserved areas.
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