Fannie to Focus on Rental Housing Aid

Fannie Mae has announced that the second phase of its expanded $2 trillion American Dream Commitment, designed to facilitate homeownership for 18 million targeted American families by the end of the decade, will focus on rental housing assistance.During this phase, Fannie will promote affordable housing initiatives for mid-life and older Americans and help families at risk of losing their homes. Among other partners, Fannie is cooperating with AARP, a nonprofit organization for older Americans. "Especially older Americans on reduced income and new homeowners with few savings are afraid of losing their homes because of unexpected setbacks," said Fannie Mae chairman and chief executive officer Franklin D. Raines. The three-phase expansion plan announced in January aims to increase homeownership for another 6 million first-time homebuyers, including 1.8 million minority families, and to raise the minority homeownership rate to 55% in 10 years. The third phase will focus on "expanding the supply of affordable housing where it is needed the most," Fannie said. The government-sponsored enterprise can be found online at http://www.fanniemae.com.