Freddie Mac’s Record $83 Billion Multifamily Volume Helped Support Volatile 2020 Market
MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 20, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ’s (OTCQB: FMCC) Multifamily line of business set a new record with $82.5 billion in loan purchase and guarantee volume in 2020. The company also provided $500 million in , supporting underserved communities across the United States. The $83.0 billion in total production bests the company’s prior record of $78.4 billion set in 2019. Overall, the company financed roughly 803,000 rental units, more than 95% of which are affordable to families making 120% of area median income and below.
“In a volatile year, Freddie Mac was a stabilizing force in the multifamily market,” said Debby Jenkins, executive vice president and head of Freddie Mac Multifamily. “The fact that we hit a record in the midst of a pandemic shows our commitment to be a consistent source of debt financing for Multifamily operators in both good times and bad. Our network of Optigo® lenders did not skip a beat, and the Freddie Mac team kept up with a demanding pace to ensure we fulfilled our mission. At the same time, we exceeded our mission-driven benchmarks and the vast majority of the units we financed are affordable to low- and moderate-income households.”
The $82.5 billion in 2020 production combined with the $17.5 billion in Q4 2019 volume puts Freddie Mac right at the $100 billion cap mandated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA). Freddie Mac surpassed its 37.5% mission-driven requirement with approximately 40% of volume meeting the definition, as governed by the Q4 2019 to Q4 2020 criteria. Mission-driven transactions included certain loans for affordable housing, smaller multifamily properties, seniors housing, manufactured housing communities and rural housing. FHFA has established a new $70 billion cap for 2021 and a 50% mission-driven requirement, which operates under new and substantially different criteria.
Freddie Mac served all corners of the multifamily market through its range of offerings, including Small Balance Loans, Targeted Affordable Housing and Seniors Housing Loans. The company also through its many securitization offerings, such as K- and SB-Deals®, transferring a large majority of expected and stress credit risk to third-party investors.
Richard Martinez, Freddie Mac Multifamily’s senior vice president of production and sales added, “We are proud that our achievements in 2020 reflect the critical role we play in the multifamily market. During a global pandemic, Freddie Mac continued to provide critical liquidity to the market and continued working to address the persistent affordability challenges facing countless renters. We quickly adapted to the environment around us, rolling out a forbearance plan for borrowers and protections for renters to help address the challenges presented by COVID-19.”
Freddie Mac Multifamily 2020 Highlights
In addition to the record $83 billion in total production, the company reached the following milestones:
- A record $12 billion in Targeted Affordable Housing Loans
- Nearly $5.3 billion in Small Balance Loans
- $3.7 billion in Seniors Housing Loans (including senior-living apartments)
is the nation's multifamily housing finance leader. Historically, more than 90% of the eligible rental units we fund are affordable to families with low-to-moderate incomes earning up to 120% of area median income. Freddie Mac securitizes about 90% of the multifamily loans it purchases, thus transferring the majority of the expected credit risk from taxpayers to private investors.
Freddie Mac makes home possible for millions of families and individuals by providing mortgage capital to lenders. Since our creation by Congress in 1970, we've made housing more accessible and affordable for homebuyers and renters in communities nationwide. We are building a better housing finance system for homebuyers, renters, lenders and taxpayers. Learn more at , Twitter and Freddie Mac's blog .
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