Freddie Mac provided $13.5 billion in financing for the multifamily market during the first half of this year, but it plans to cut back in the second half to comply with a regulatory directive.
“We expect lower new business volume for the remainder of 2013,” Freddie says in its 2Q securities filing, “due to increased competition from other market participants” and to meet a conservatorship goal of reducing new business volume by 10% in 2013.
Last year, the GSE’s
Freddie has already taken steps, including increased pricing, to meet the 10% reduction set by the Federal Housing Finance Agency.
During the first half of this year, Freddie provided financing for more than 750 properties with 185,000 units, according to the 2Q filing.
"Freddie Mac's consistent support for the multifamily rental housing market provides confidence to private apartment developers and construction lenders, and facilitates a strong constant flow of capital to the apartment sector. This helps ensure a strong and stable pipeline of new apartment communities to accommodate the growing demand for affordable rental housing," said David Brickman who is in charge of Freddie’s multifamily program.
In the securities filing, Freddie officials noted that the multifamily vacancy rate stabilized at 4.3% during the first half of the year. Meanwhile, property values rose 12% from March 2012 through March 2013. Values rose another 0.7% in the second quarter. Multifamily properties are “near the peak values experienced in the second quarter of 2007,” Freddie said.
