HUD to Release More GSE Data

The Department of Housing and Urban Development is making more data about Fannie Mae's and Freddie Mac's loan purchases available to the public, and it will give researchers a better grasp of how the government-sponsored enterprises contribute to homeownership opportunities.In releasing GSE data, HUD will start identifying which loans are "home purchase" loans by census tract and with loan-level data, such as loan-to-value ratios. "Such identification will permit the public to consider whether the GSEs are purchasing sufficient low down payment loans to serve the needs to lower-income borrowers," HUD says in the final order. "Currently, questions such as these cannot be answered by using the GSE public use database." The notice of final order, which is effective immediately, outlines how HUD decided to change the classification of certain proprietary GSE data it collects from Fannie and Freddie so that the data can be released publicly. HUD also decided that public data on the GSE purchases of multifamily loans should include whether they are seasoned or newly originated loans.