News Alert

Alert: Key Provisions in 2022 Multifamily Caps

October 13, 2021

Today, October 13, 2021, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) published the 2022 Multifamily Loan Purchase Caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The volume caps for each GSE will increase from $70 billion to $78 billion for a $156 billion total, up from $140 billion in 2021. FHFA largely maintained the mission-driven requirements, with 50% of all purchased loans required to satisfy mission-driven criteria. Note that mission-driven definitions were expanded (see below). FHFA slightly raised the requirement that 25% of the purchased loans be affordable at the 60% area median income (AMI) (up from 20% in 2021).

Click here for CREFC’s Side-by-Side Analysis of the 2022 Multifamily Caps. The document includes a detailed chart on how the mission-driven criteria changed in the new caps.

2022 Multifamily Caps Overview

• Volume Caps total $156 billion ($78 billion each), which is an increase from $140 billion ($70 billion each);
• 50% of GSE multifamily loans must be mission-driven (same as 2021, but mission-driven definition has changed in several places, see below);
• 25% of the purchased loans must be affordable at the 60% AMI
  
  

• Loans on affordable units in cost-burdened renter markets can qualify if rents are affordable at 100% AMI and 120% AMI (cost-burdened and very cost-burdened). Previously, an 80% threshold was used across the board.
• Loans to finance energy or water efficiency improvements can qualify as mission-driven if affordability and energy/water reduction metrics are satisfied. The GSEs’ various green programs can qualify under the new definition.
• The general 80% AMI affordability floor was removed for the “targeted affordable housing” definition, and case-by-case inclusion is allowed when loans do not meet the exact criteria outlined in that definition.

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