Freddie Turns Away From Small MF Loans

Freddie Mac nearly stopped purchasing mortgages on small apartment buildings in 2005 after the Department of Housing and Urban Development stopped providing bonuses under its affordable housing rules.HUD affordable housing data show that Freddie Mac's loan purchases in 2005 included only 14,000 units that qualified as small multifamily (5-50 units) loans. Freddie purchased small multifamily loans with 181,000 units in 2003 -- the last year HUD provided a bonus. In 2001, HUD started giving Freddie and Fannie Mae double credit for each unit financed to get the two government-sponsored enterprises more involved in serving the small apartment market. Fannie's purchases of small multifamily loans fell from 231,000 units in 2003 to 91,000 units in 2005. The 2005 AH data appeared in a research paper presented by a HUD economist at an American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association conference. Freddie could not be reached for comment by MortgageWire's deadline.