WASHINGTON, DC-The long-term fate of GSEs Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac is uncertain, but if recent financings are any indication, they will have a very strong appetite for multifamily deals  until the bitter end– especially for assets located in the Washington, DC region. Two separate transactions illustrate this, including one of the largest loans Freddie Mac has closed this year.

That would be a $328 million package secured by Centerline Capital Group on behalf of DP Portfolio Investors, a joint venture between affiliates of Pantzer Properties and Dune Real Estate Partners. The companies acquired an eight-asset portfolio in the DC area earlier this year for $460 million. 

The 2,580-unit portfolio is called “The Point DC Portfolio,” and the eight properties are located in: Alexandria, Ashburn, Herndon, Leesburg and Manassas, Virginia, and in Gaithersburg and Germantown, Maryland.

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The second transaction, a $40 million refinancing by Fannie Mae, was arranged by Beech Street Capital, for a three-property portfolio in Baltimore.  The transaction was originated by Jacob Katz of Meridian Capital Group, and was financed by Beech Street Capital as part of its correspondent relationship with Meridian. The deal structure included a six-month forward rate lock, which Beech Capital was able to secure within 48 hours of the application, it said. The 1,200-unit portfolio is located throughout Baltimore, Gen Burnie and Essex.

As for the GSE’s eventual path, the consensus is that Congress and the Obama Administration will not touch that until after the election. In the meantime, new figures from the Federal Housing Finance Agency  suggests the bailout costs for the GSEs will wind up being  less than first thought--$124 billion through 2014, instead of $154 billion.