WASHINGTON, DC-Fannie Mae is closing out the year on its Guaranteed Multifamily Structures program with $6 billion in issuances, Kimberly Johnson, the GSE's VP of multifamily capital markets, tells GlobeSt.com. Last year, that number was $4.8 billion.

“We did a tremendous amount of activity in general in our multifamily program this year,” she adds, ticking off several large numbers to illustrate: about “$22-ish billion” in production and some $30 billion in total activity. The difference between those two figures, she explains, includes the total of newly originated MBS, plus GeMS issuance, as well as MBS sales out of GSE’s portfolio. “Basically we made $30 billion in Fannie Mae multifamily product available to investors.”

Other ways in which the program excelled in 2011, she said: “the credit quality of the loans we put in DUS is very strong compared to what we see in the market. For example, she said, in Fannie Mae’s eighth—and last for 2011—Multifamily DUS REMIC, there were 137 loans underlying the $513 million issuance. Those loans had an LTV of 63.7 and a debt service coverage ratio of 183. “It is notable because it is significantly higher than what we see in the market,” Johnson says.

Also in 2011, Fannie Mae saw an increase in the number of investors in its GeMS program, to approximately 50 from the low 40s. She attributes that to several new structural features the GSE introduced in the program this year, including floating rate tranches and a support tranche that absorbs pre-payment. “Those were well received,” she says.

One result from the increase in investors is that the issues tend to get fully subscribed within hours, instead of days. “We expect to see more investors enter next year,” Johnson adds.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac both approach the multifamily finance market with the same end goal in mind—lending to this asset class—but from different directions. Fannie Mae retains risk through lender origination and then securitizes the loans using a REMIC structure via its GeMS program. Freddie Mac originates whole loans, aggregates and then sells them.  In short, the GSEs both deliver wrapped bonds that look similar to MBS investors, but the way they generate the origination is different.

Freddie Mac, as well, appears poised for a strong multifamily year in 2012, according to the GSE’s newly-released economic overview. Expect fewer single-family originations but more multifamily lending in the coming year.

“The better fundamentals in the rental market and pent-up demand for refinance of multifamily loans should translate into higher lending volumes in that portion of the market, driven by both more refinance and more sales transactions,” wrote Frank E. Nothaft, chief economist.