WASHINGTON, DC—The Federal Housing Finance Agency announced last week it is widening the categories that can be excluded from the GSEs multifamily lending cap. The change will give Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac more capacity to underwrite affordable housing deals.

The FHFA has kept the cap of $30 billion, established in the 2015 Scorecard for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, in place. Exclusions to this cap in previous years have covered affordable housing loans, loans to small multifamily properties and loans to manufactured housing rental communities.

Last week the FHFA tweaked that list by allowing a number of related items to also be excluded. For example, the GSEs can now exclude a pro rata portion of multifamily loan amounts, based on the percentage of units in a property affordable to renters at 60% of area median income. In addition, assisted living units for seniors can also be excluded as long as they are affordable at 80% of area median income.

The agency also increased the income threshold for affordability in higher cost areas to 80% of area median income and for very high cost markets it raised it to 100% of area median income.

Finally, the FHFA says that the calculation of specific loan amounts excluded from the caps for mixed income targeted affordable housing properties will also be modified.

The GSEs hailed the change.

"These changes will provide us with a greater ability to serve the needs of affordable and workforce housing across the full range of multifamily communities," David Brickman, executive vice president of Freddie Mac Multifamily, says in a prepared statement.

Instant Insights /

FHFA Widens GSE Multifamily Lending Exclusions

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