Today, the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) announced the 2024 multifamily loan purchase caps for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will be at $70 billion each for a total of $140 billion, a modest reduction from the $150 billion this year.
The FHFA will also require that at least 50 percent of the Enterprises’ multifamily businesses be mission-driven affordable housing – a category that was first introduced in 2023. Additionally, the FHFA will allow loans classified as supporting workforce housing properties to be exempt from the volume caps in 2024.
- Workforce housing loans preserve rents at affordable levels in multifamily properties, typically without the use of public subsidies.
- Affordability levels correspond to 80-120 percent of area median income, depending on the market.
- This change supports the Enterprises’ workforce housing activities by allowing full exclusion from the volume caps for eligible loans.
Both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae remain focused on mission-driven housing with an eye toward affordability, access and sustainability. While caps have been reduced for 2024, the FHFA reintroduced the concept of uncapped business within the workforce housing space, which gives the agencies the latitude to exceed $70 billion. The FHFA stated that they will be monitoring the multifamily mortgage market and will consider increasing the caps to support market liquidity, but in no event reduce the caps.
Berkadia’s partnership with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac on preserving affordability in workforce housing helped lead to new products, and the 2024 FHFA Scorecard’s emphasis on workforce housing builds on our expertise. Berkadia is looking forward to continuing to work with our agency partners to fulfill their goals and meet their mission-driven and affordable housing needs.
Contact a Berkadia mortgage banker to learn more or read more about the following Fannie Mae products and programs: