Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) proposed new benchmark levels for the multifamily housing goals for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the Enterprises) for 2023 and 2024.
The rule proposes a new methodology for measuring the Enterprise multifamily housing goals. Rather than measuring the multifamily housing goals based on a number of units, the proposed rule would use the percentage of each Enterprise’s annual multifamily loan acquisitions that are affordable to each income category.
| Proposed Multifamily Goals(percentage share of multifamily units) | |
|---|---|
| Multifamily Goals | Proposed Benchmark Level 2023-2024 |
| Low-Income Goal | 61% |
| Very Low-Income Subgoal | 12% |
| Low-Income Small Multifamily Subgoal | 2% |
“Today’s proposed rule would ensure that each Enterprise’s focus remains on affordable segments of the multifamily market and reaffirms FHFA’s commitments to its statutory duty to promote affordability nationwide,” said FHFA Director Sandra L. Thompson. “The proposed change to the methodology will make the multifamily housing goals more responsive to market conditions.”
FHFA previously established benchmark levels in December 2021 for the Enterprise multifamily housing goals for 2022 only. FHFA established multifamily levels for a single year in response to market uncertainty resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential for unforeseen changes to multifamily market conditions beyond 2022. FHFA is not proposing any changes to the underlying criteria that determine which multifamily units qualify for credit under the housing goals in this proposed rule.
By law, the Enterprises must support a stable and liquid national market for residential mortgage financing. FHFA establishes annual housing goals for the Enterprises and assesses their performance under the housing goals annually.
Interested parties are invited to submit comments on this proposed rule within 60 days of publication in the Federal Register. Comments should be submitted via FHFA’s website or to the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Division of Housing Mission and Goals, 400 7th Street, S.W., Washington, DC 20219.
2023-2024 Enterprise Multifamily Housing Goals Proposed Rule