FHFA Lowers Multifamily Caps by $10 Billion
November 14, 2023
On November 14, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced that the 2024 multifamily loan purchase caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) will be $70 billion for each Enterprise, for a combined total of $140 billion to support the multifamily market.
Key Takeaways
- Caps Reduced to $70 billion: FHFA stated that the reductions from the $75 billion loan purchase caps per Enterprise in 2023, are “appropriate given current market forecasts.”
- 50% Mission-Driven Maintained: To ensure a strong focus on affordable housing and underserved markets, FHFA will continue to require that at least 50% of the Enterprises’ multifamily businesses be mission-driven, affordable housing.
- Workforce Housing Exempt from Caps: In a departure from last year’s mandate, loans classified as supporting workforce housing properties in Appendix A of the Conservatorship Scorecard will be exempt from the volume caps. All other mission-driven loans will remain subject to the volume caps.
Why it matters: Exempting workforce housing, a mission-driven category developed in 2023, from the multifamily loan purchase caps highlights FHFA’s greater focus on affordable housing under Director Sandra Thompson.
CREFC’s DC Symposium on November 28 will feature Director Thompson as a keynote speaker, providing our members the opportunity to learn more about FHFA’s policy priorities.
CLICK HERE for CREFC’s Side-by-Side analysis of the 2024 Multifamily Caps. The document includes a detailed chart on how the mission-driven criteria changed in the new caps.
Please contact Sairah Burki at sburki@crefc.org or David McCarthy at dmccarthy@crefc.org with any questions.