Which Is Better, Fannie or Freddie?

The Agencies of Change panel at RealShare Apartments.

LOS ANGELES—“At different times, one of the agencies will decide that they want more control, because they aren’t hitting their numbers or for different reasons, and they adjust their pricing, so you can’t make a global statement,” said Ed Zimbler, senior managing director at Berkadia, on the Agencies of change panel at RealShare Apartments. Moderator Gary Tenzer, principal and managing director at George Smith Partners, asked how they decide to go with Fannie Mae or Freddie Mack, and the consensus among the panelists was that it depends, as pricing changes throughout the year.

The other panelists—Jeff Burns, managing director at Walker & Dunlop; Laurie Morfin, SVP at Bellwether Enterprise; Greg Reed, SVP of originations at Capital One Multifamily Finance; Jeff Weidell. President at NorthMarq Capital—said that generally, Freddie offers more interest only under $10 million, while Fannie is better for longer term financing. This year, Freddie won the floating rate business, while Fannie has an underwriting floor. “There are a lot of variables that are always changing, adds Zimbler.