Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac seek input on equitable housing plans

The Federal Housing Finance Agency on Tuesday issued a request for input on a new directive requiring Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to submit equitable housing finance plans by year-end.

The RFI seeks suggestions for what should be included in the government-sponsored enterprises’ initial three-year plans, which will “identify and address” barriers to sustainable homeownership, set “goals and action plans to advance equity in housing finance,” and be updated annually. Comments can be submitted at a public listening session on Sept. 28, online or by mail. The deadline for all comments is Oct. 25.

"For generations, discriminatory practices like redlining have prevented communities of color from building wealth through homeownership,” said Sandra Thompson, acting director of the FHFA, in a press release. "By identifying the barriers to equitable and sustainable housing finance opportunities and setting goals for addressing those barriers, the enterprises, consistent with safety and soundness, can responsibly reduce the racial and ethnic disparities in homeownership and wealth that still exist today.”

The GSEs’ new equitable housing finance plans build on broader efforts by the Biden administration to close racial gaps in homeownership rates through various methods.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac already have taken some steps to engage in more equitable lending by incorporating rental payments into credit assessments, and lowering down payment hurdles for certain owner-occupants seeking to finance two-to-four unit properties. In addition, the FHFA recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the Department of Housing and Urban Development on fair lending enforcement.